The Return
by cleotheo
Summary: Sequel to Murder at Malfoy Manor. After Lucius's death the Malfoy's have moved on with their lives, putting the past behind them. When Draco and Hermione's daughter starts school the past is revisited when she spots a young boy who is the spitting image of her father.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - Welcome to the sequel to Murder at Malfoy Manor. This story starts roughly ten years after the end of the previous story. At the minute I'm quite busy working on several stories so for the time being I will be updating this story approximately once a week, although if things are going well with my writing it could be quicker. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was nearly midnight as Ginny Weasley sat on the wooden love seat on her front porch. Her eyes were admiring the South African countryside but she was thinking about back home, specifically Hogwarts. It was early summer and her son, Thomas, was due to begin his wizarding education in September. Despite the rest of his schooling taking place in Cape Town, Ginny couldn't help but wish her son could attend the prestigious school she had attended in her youth.

"Is everything aright, Darling?" A voice behind Ginny startled her out of her thoughts.

Ginny turned, smiling as her husband walked out of the house and settled down beside her. Ginny's husband, Jacques DuPlessis, was a rich South African Wizard in his late fifties.

Ginny had met Jacques while she still lived in Brazil and Jacques was there on an extended business trip. At the time it had barely been two years since Lucius's death and Ginny was extremely wary when the older wizard started to pursue her. Jacques was persistent however and eventually Ginny agreed to go out with the wizard. When it was time for Jacques to return to South Africa he had asked Ginny to accompany him home and marry him. Knowing it wouldn't be fair to marry Jacques without telling him the truth about her real identity Ginny had confessed everything. Jacques had been surprisingly understanding and had insisted he still wanted to be with Ginny no matter what she had done. With Jacques knowing the full truth about her life Ginny had moved to South Africa and married the wealthy wizard, Jacques had also adopted Thomas and to the outside world he was Jacques son.

"I'm just thinking about Thomas." Ginny sighed, leaning against her husband. "He starts school in September and I was just thinking how nice it would be for him to attend Hogwarts."

"You know the school here in South Africa is a good one." Jacques said.

"I know." Ginny told her husband. "It just would have been nice to have him at Hogwarts. Even though I know it's not going to happen I guess I just like to imagine receiving his first letter from school where he tells me what house he's in. I've always been curious as to which house he would end up in."

"Do you really want Thomas to go to Hogwarts?" Jacques asked. He'd always given his wife whatever she wanted and if she wanted their son to attend Hogwarts then he would do his best to make it happen.

"I would love it, but there's no way he can. It's impossible." Ginny sighed.

"Nothing's impossible, darling." Jacques replied, kissing the top of Ginny's head. "I'm sure if I contacted the school I could arrange a place for Thomas and we could easily relocate to England."

"You're forgetting the fact I'm a wanted criminal, Jacques." Ginny said, looking up at her husband. "The moment I set foot in England I'll be arrested."

"No, you won't." Jacques shook his head. "Ginny Weasley is the wanted criminal, you're Sara DuPlessis, wife to a very rich and influential wizard. If I thought for one minute returning to England would put you in danger I wouldn't have suggested it."

"What if someone recognises me?" Ginny asked, trying not to get too excited about the prospect of returning home in case it didn't happen.

"They won't, you look completely different." Jacques reassured his wife. "It's been over ten years since anyone last saw you. I could barely see the resemblance between your past self and the new you eight years ago, now no-one would recognise you."

Ginny thought about what her husband was saying, wondering if she had changed enough to fool the people she had once been so close to. Her hair was stylishly cut to shoulder length and it was professionally coloured dark brown every month at an expensive salon in Cape Town. Years of living in the hot sun had also given Ginny a permanent tan, something she had never had as a redhead.

"I don't know, it's still risky." Ginny said. "I'm sure my parents would recognise me."

"And where would you ever run into them?" Jacques questioned. "If we did move we would buy a large property and it would be like it is here, you wouldn't have to leave the premises unless you chose to."

"Are you sure we can just leave so suddenly?" Ginny asked. While she wanted to go home and send Thomas to Hogwarts she didn't want to ruin her husband's business.

"Yes, I can run the business from anywhere." Jacques said. "Think about it and if you really want Thomas to go to Hogwarts, then I'll make it happen."

"Thank you." Ginny said, kissing her husband. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Now come on, it's time we went to bed." Jacques took hold of Ginny's hand as the couple headed inside to go to bed.

* * *

...

* * *

Eleven year old Thomas DuPlessis looked at The Hogwarts Express in excitement. His life over the last couple of months had been full of excitement as his parents relocated to England so he could attend the legendary wizarding school in Scotland. Thomas wasn't sure why his mother was so determined that he attend Hogwarts but he wasn't complaining, after reading all about his new school Thomas was eager to board the train and begin his academic career.

"Do you have everything?" Jacques asked, regaining his son's attention.

"Yes dad." Thomas smiled.

"Good." Jacques nodded. "And you can remember what we discussed this morning."

"Yes, don't talk in Afrikaans just so people won't be able to understand what I'm saying." Thomas rolled his eyes at his father.

"And don't insult them in a foreign language either." Jacques warned.

"I won't." Thomas said.

"Good, you should be going." Jacques said, hugging his son. "Don't forget to write to your mother tonight."

"Don't worry, I won't." Thomas replied. "Tell her I love her and that I wish she'd been here."

"I will." Jacques nodded. At the last minute Ginny had decided against coming to the train station so they had told Thomas she was feeling unwell.

"Bye dad." Thomas called, hopping into the bright red engine.

Jacques waved at Thomas one last time as he watched the train depart from the station. Already missing his son Jacques apparated home to where he knew Ginny would be wanting a blow by blow account of the morning.

While Thomas may not be his biological son Jacques had raised the boy since he was two years old and loved him like his own. Apart from him and Ginny no-one knew Thomas wasn't his son, even Thomas thought Jacques was his biological father. Because of his money and influence Jacques was able to keep his family away from the media on a whole but even if a stray picture of Thomas did emerge his parentage wasn't really a question. While Thomas was platinum blond, like his father and half-brother, Jacques hair was a darker blond so no-one questioned the difference in colour.

"Was everything alright?" Ginny questioned as soon as her husband arrived home. "Was he okay?"

"Everything was fine." Jacques told his wife. "Although you would know if you had come with us."

"Sorry, I wanted to. I just suddenly panicked in case someone recognised me." Ginny said regretfully. She had really wanted to watch Thomas board The Hogwarts Express but when it came to it she was too nervous about going somewhere she had visited before her life on the run.

"No-one's going to recognise you, darling." Jacques pulled Ginny into a hug. "I promise."

"I just hope no-one recognises Thomas." Ginny sighed. "When he came down stairs in his uniform he looked exactly like Draco did when he was younger, minus the gelled hair. I'm just worried that someone will take one look at him and know he's got Malfoy blood in him."

"I'm sure they won't." Jacques reassured his wife. "You see the resemblance because you know who his family are but I'm sure it's not obvious to most people."

"Really, take a look at page four." Ginny picked up the morning's edition of The Daily Prophet and handed it to her husband.

Jacques flipped to page four, staring as he spotted the full page spread on Draco Malfoy and his family. Over the years the Malfoy name came up in his business life regularly but knowing what he did about Ginny he had avoided dealing with Draco. As such he hadn't ever seen a picture of the man but his resemblance to Thomas was uncanny, he had the same grey eyes and the exact same shade of platinum blond hair. Looking at the pictures of Draco's wife and children Jacques gasped as he saw Draco's seven year old son, the boy was a dead ringer for Thomas when he was his age.

"See what I mean?" Ginny asked, flopping down on a chair. She was now worrying that her desire to send Thomas to Hogwarts would result in her ending up in Azkaban.

"Those Malfoy genes are pretty dominant in males." Jacques reluctantly conceded. He had noticed that Draco's daughter looked more like her mother and he idly wondered if there was some sort of enchantment on the male members of the Malfoy family so that they always had a similar look about them. "But I still don't think anyone will associate a boy with a South African accent with the Malfoy's."

"What if they do though?" Ginny asked, getting more worried. "This was a mistake, we never should have left Cape Town."

"Sara, this was not a mistake." Jacques said, sitting down next to his wife. Despite knowing Ginny's real name Jacques always called her by her new identity so he wouldn't ever slip up in public when speaking about his wife. "If someone does question Thomas's paternity we have proof that he's my son. All records of me adopting him are hidden and the new birth certificate I had made lists me as the father. I promise you, no matter how hard anyone digs they will never find any proof that Thomas is anything but a DuPlessis."

"Thank you for everything you've done for me and Thomas." Ginny hugged her husband tightly. She knew Jacques had gone to great lengths to make sure she was untraceable as Ginny Weasley and she was confident that her husband would always protect her from any suspicion that might fall on her.

"You're welcome, darling." Jacques kissed Ginny briefly before standing up. "I have to go to work, will you be okay?"

"Yes, I'll see you tonight." Ginny said, watching as her husband flooed to his office in central London.

After Jacques had left Ginny picked up the paper, once again studying the pictures of Draco and his family. Despite her husband's reassurances she was still worried that someone would place Thomas as a Malfoy. Ginny just hoped that Jacques was right and no-one would associate a South African boy with a family with French and English heritage.

Flipping through the paper Ginny found the other article that had caught her eye as she read the paper that morning. With everything that Jacques had done for her recently Ginny couldn't help but think about the only other man that had risked so much for her, Blaise Zabini. Over the last ten years Ginny knew that Blaise had set up his own potions company and was now very wealthy with a booming business. While his business dealings often made the headlines what had been scarcer to read about over the years was his private life, Ginny could barely remember seeing much about his love life, until the article that morning.

With a touch of sadness and regret Ginny looked at the article that announced Blaise's engagement to Astoria Greengrass. Ginny had always felt horrible for the way she had treated Blaise and she was glad he had found happiness. There was no doubt in Ginny's mind as she looked at the pictures that Blaise loved Astoria and that she loved him. The three pictures that accompanied the article all showed how happy and in love the couple were. If the pictures hadn't been enough to convince her of Blaise's happiness the article would have, every time Blaise was quoted he was singing Astoria's praises or saying how much he was looking forward to their winter wedding.

Putting the newspaper down, Ginny got up off her seat and began tidying the front room. She decided she wouldn't worry about things that hadn't happened yet or might not even happen at all. After making sure the house was neat and tidy Ginny headed to the study for an afternoon of work. With the money Jacques had she didn't need to work but during her early days in South Africa she found she had a passion for writing. With Jacques help she was signed up as a freelance writer to one of South Africa's top wizarding magazines. Ginny specialised in writing short stories and despite the move she had agreed a deal to still write for the magazine.

After a productive afternoon finishing her latest story Ginny began making dinner for Jacques returning home. Despite the fact they employed a few members of staff to help run the large estate Jacques had bought, Ginny preferred to do the cooking. By the time Jacques returned home Ginny had the meal finished and the couple settled down to eat together.

After dinner they retired to the front room as they spent a few hours relaxing and talking about trivial things. Ginny was trying hard not to get too anxious as she waited for a letter from Thomas to arrive. When the owl did appear at the window Ginny was practically giddy as Jacques retrieved the letter and handed it to his wife.

"Is he settling in all right?" Jacques asked as Ginny tore open the letter and began reading.

"Yes, he seems to love it." Ginny replied, relieved that Thomas was settling in fine.

"So what house is he in?" Jacques asked, he knew that was the part Ginny was most anxious about.

Ginny continued reading, until she found the answer to her husband's question. "Gryffindor." She beamed, thrilled her son had taken after her and not his father regarding what house he was placed in.


	2. Chapter 2

**One Year Later.**

"Mum!"

Hermione Malfoy groaned into her husband's shoulder as the noise from the dining room started to escalate. While Hermione and Draco were busy making out in the kitchen their two children were supposed to be eating breakfast but for the last ten minutes all Hermione had heard was bickering and whining.

"Don't do that, you little brat." Hermione heard her daughter yell. "Mum!"

"And you really want another one." Hermione muttered to Draco as she walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room.

"Scorpius Malfoy, stop putting frogs in your sister's hair."

At his wife's scolding Draco had to work hard not to laugh at his son's antics. At eight years old Scorpius was a terror and was always finding new ways to terrorise his older sister, Lyra. Luckily for Lyra she was starting Hogwarts that day so she would escape her brother's antics for a few months.

"Take the frogs and go and put them back in the pond." Draco heard Hermione tell their son. "And don't you dare bring them back into this house."

A few seconds later a sheepish looking Scorpius shuffled through the kitchen carrying a glass jar with several small frogs inside. Draco hadn't intended to encourage his son's behaviour but the eight year old looked so forlorn he couldn't resist shooting Scorpius a quick grin. Scorpius grinned back at his father and rushed outside to return the frogs to the pond before Hermione arrived back in the kitchen and discovered he hadn't done so.

Scorpius had just left the kitchen when Hermione re-entered with Lyra. Lyra immediately rushed over to Draco and wrapped her arms around her father's waist. Lyra had long, light brown hair, deep brown eyes and was a total daddy's girl.

"Daddy, Scorp put frogs in my hair." Lyra pouted. "Now it's covered in frog's slime."

"I'm sure it's not." Draco responded kindly, although he didn't touch his daughter's hair just in case she was right.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the pair before turning to their son who had re-entered the kitchen, without his jar of frogs. "Scorp go and get ready for school."

Scorpius attended a muggle primary school as Hermione was insistent that her children have some sort of education before Hogwarts. Lyra had also attended the same school and apart from a few accidental mishaps both children had managed to keep their magic a secret.

"While I take Scorp to school you two can re-check Lyra has everything for Hogwarts." Hermione turned to her husband and daughter. "And Draco make sure to de-slime Lyra's hair."

"But you said I had no slime in my hair." Lyra said to her mother, her eyes widening at the thought of having slime in her hair.

"I'm only joking." Hermione said, running her fingers through her daughter's soft hair. "Your hair's fine."

"You shouldn't joke about something as serious as frog slime in my hair." Lyra huffed.

"Don't listen to your mother, she's only jealous that her hair wasn't as nice as yours when she was your age." Draco told his daughter while smirking at his wife.

Hermione glared at Draco while Lyra giggled, she had seen the pictures of her mother in her early schooldays and knew exactly how wild and bushy Hermione's hair had been.

"We should be off soon. Make sure to have everything ready for when I return." Hermione kissed both Draco and Lyra on the cheek before going to hurry Scorpius along.

A few minutes later Draco and Hermione heard Scorpius running down the stairs at full speed. They also heard Hermione yelling at him to walk, unless he wanted to fall down the stairs and end up in St Mungo's. Scorpius clearly didn't want to end up in hospital as he walked the rest of the way down the stairs. After shouting final goodbye's Hermione and Scorpius left the house to take the youngest Malfoy to school.

"Come on, we better make sure everything's sorted before your mother returns." Draco said to Lyra as he led her from the kitchen.

Father and daughter walked upstairs to Lyra's room where her trunk was sitting open on the bed. The contents of the trunk were packed neatly and sitting beside it on the bed was a checklist in Hermione's writing.

"Let's double check this list." Draco picked up the list his wife had written. Even though everything had been ticked by Lyra as she had packed it was still worth double checking.

For the next ten minutes Draco and Lyra double checked the contents of the trunk. Satisfied everything was in place Draco closed the trunk and locked it. Lifting the trunk of Lyra's bed Draco sat down in its place, patting the place beside him for his daughter to join him.

"Are you okay, Lyra?" Draco asked his daughter as she sat down next to him. After the frog incident she had gotten very quiet and Draco was concerned that his little girl was upset about something.

"Yeah, I'm just going to miss everyone." Lyra sighed. "I've never been away from home for so long before."

"I know what you mean. Before I left for Hogwarts, I was terrified." Draco confessed, remembering how stressful he had found leaving home to attend school.

"Really?" Lyra questioned sceptically. "Mum always says that when you were younger you were a right cocky git."

"I was, on the outside." Draco admitted. "It didn't mean that I wasn't worried about starting school on the inside. It also didn't change the fact I was homesick for the first few weeks. Putting up a confident exterior was easier than letting people see I was nervous."

"Were you worried about the sorting?" Lyra asked.

"Not really, I was confident I would get into Slytherin. Are you nervous about it?" Draco asked his daughter, wondering if that had been what was bothering her.

"A bit." Lyra admitted, biting nervously on her lower lip. "What if I disappoint either you or mum, I can't please you both and be in two houses."

"You won't disappoint either of us, sweetheart." Draco told his daughter, giving her a hug. "It doesn't matter what house you're in, we'll be proud of you whatever."

"So you won't be upset if I'm not in Slytherin?" Lyra asked, looking up at her father with a hesitant expression.

"Of course not. Honestly, I'd be very surprised if you did end up in Slytherin. Your brother on the other hand is a perfect Slytherin, but you're much more like your mother."

"So you think I'll end up in Gryffindor?" Lyra asked, perking up at the idea.

"I think you'll end up in the right house for you." Draco said, suddenly realising why Lyra had been so off. She clearly wanted to be in Gryffindor but she was worried about upsetting him. "If you really want to be in Gryffindor, tell the hat. Apparently it listens to students choices."

"Really? How do you know?" Lyra asked. She'd read lots about Hogwarts and nowhere had she heard that the sorting hat would listen to students requests.

"According to Harry when he was sorted the hat wanted to put him in Slytherin. He didn't want to be in Slytherin so he begged the hat to place him elsewhere and it did."

"I never knew that." Lyra said.

"Harry doesn't tell the story too much. I think he's quite embarrassed that he once had such a low opinion of Slytherins and now he's not only friends with a few but married to one." Draco chuckled as he stood up. "Come on, we better get your trunk downstairs."

Before Draco could grab his daughter's trunk she jumped up and gave him a hug. "Thanks daddy." She said, letting him go so he could grab her trunk. Lyra knew that Draco had figured out what her problem had been and she was grateful that he had eased her worries so easily.

Lyra and Draco had only been downstairs a few minutes when Hermione returned home. After double checking that Lyra had her trunk and her owl, Hermione apparated her and her daughter to King's Cross Station while Draco followed behind with Lyra's belonging's. Making their way to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, Hermione and Draco prepared themselves to watch their first born leave for school for the first time.

* * *

...

* * *

Draco walked into the crowded pub and headed for the bar. The Leaky Cauldron had recently had a makeover and the once dingy pub was now one of the best pubs in wizarding London. The brains behind the new look was the new landlady, Hannah Longbottom.

"Hey, Hannah." Draco greeted the witch behind the bar. "I'll have my usual please."

"There you go." Hannah smiled, passing Draco a glass of firewhisky.

"Are the others here yet?" Draco asked. He was meeting his friends for a few hands of poker and drinks and for once he was actually early.

"Theo and Greg have been here most of the afternoon." Hannah tutted at the men's drinking habits. "And Dean and Seamus arrived about five minutes ago."

"Thanks, I'll head through to the back." Draco grabbed his drink and headed for the private back room that was reserved for their group of friends.

Entering the room Draco found four of his friends gathered around one of the table laughing at a story Seamus Finnegan was telling. Greeting his friends Draco sat down beside Gregory Goyle.

"You made it then." Seamus said as Draco sat down.

"Thanks to you." Draco said. "I can't believe I almost forgot tonight."

Seamus had reminded Draco of the meeting that morning while they were both seeing their children off to Hogwarts for the first time. While Draco and Hermione were seeing Lyra off Seamus and his wife, Daphne were seeing off their son, Patrick. Patrick was a couple of months older than Lyra, he was always smiling and had immaculate manners but unfortunately he had inherited his father's ability to blow things up while conducting simple magic. As much as Draco liked Patrick he hoped that Lyra would have the sense to make sure she wasn't partnered with him in Potions or any other lesson where he might accidently blow her up.

"See that's what happens when you get married and have children." Theo Nott told his friend. "Your mind's so filled with them that you forget who's really important, your friends."

"Luckily for you, you don't have that problem." Dean Thomas laughed. It was a well-known fact that Theo liked his single life and had no intention of settling down and having children.

"Nope, not a problem I'll ever have." Theo smirked. "Oh look here's another couple of old married men."

Draco looked up to see Harry Potter and Ron Weasley approaching, both men carrying pints of beer in their hands. Harry and Ron sat down at the table as Theo continued to bemoan the fact all his friends were married and nearly all had children.

"How much have you had to drink?" Ron asked a rambling Theo.

"More than you're allowed to have." Theo replied, taking a swig out of his half empty glass. "Unlike you I don't have a nagging wife at home."

"Luna doesn't nag." Ron protested.

"All wives nag." Theo responded, drowning the rest of his drink. The glass then magically refilled itself.

"Says the man with no experience." Blaise Zabini said, announcing his presence as he settled down at the table.

"I have plenty of experience with wives, just not one of my own." Theo chuckled.

Blaise visibly winced at Theo's words, any mention of cheating left him uncomfortable after the way Ginny had treated him all those years ago.

"Perhaps we should get started now we're all here." Draco said, noticing how uncomfortable Blaise had become.

It had taken a while for Draco and Blaise's friendship to recover from the events following Lucius's murder but now apart from the occasional moment their friendship was pretty solid. Draco and Blaise had worked on rebuilding their friendship for years and Draco found the more his mother was moving on with her life the less guilty he felt about his growing friendship Blaise. By the time Narcissa had re-married five years ago Draco and Blaise's friendship was back on track. Narcissa had understood Draco's decision to let Blaise back into his life but she had personally never been able to forgive him for his actions, the few times the two did come into contact they politely ignored the other.

"Shouldn't we wait for Neville?" Theo asked, looking round at the group of friends and noticing a empty seat.

"Hogwarts started back today. You can't expect Neville to miss the welcoming feast to come and play poker with us." Harry said. Neville was the Herbology Professor and recently appointed Head of Gryffindor.

"I forgot." Theo said, waving his wand and producing a deck of cards.

"I didn't. I've been looking forward to this day for years." Seamus said as Theo started dealing the cards. "At last I'll have a nice peaceful house."

"I'm so jealous, I wish I had a peaceful house." Draco muttered.

"Surely you're not implying your son is anything less than a quiet angel." Harry said as the other men laughed. It was common knowledge that while Scorpius was adorable he was also a little devil.

"I don't know what I'm complaining about." Draco said sarcastically. "Putting frog's in his sister's hair over breakfast is perfectly good behaviour."

"That's what you get for letting him be friends with little Fred." Ron laughed. "Any son of George's was bound to be trouble and mix in a son of yours and you've got a deadly combination."

"What a lovely way to talk about your nephew." Draco said. "Although it's perfectly true."

"Yeah, little Fred does manage to live up to his namesake pretty well." Harry said.

"Of course he does, I swear George has being coaching him since birth to cause as much trouble as possible." Ron said. "Now he's got Scorpius on side as well, I think he's already plotting how the pair of them can cause maximum trouble when they reach Hogwarts."

"Don't say that." Draco groaned as the rest of the group laughed. Everyone could already picture the havoc that Fred and Scorpius could cause once they started school.

"Come on, let's get moving." Blaise said as the laughter died down. "If we don't get a game in soon it'll be time to leave."

The men all nodded and all talk of wives and children was abandoned as they set about playing poker for a few hours.

* * *

...

* * *

Quietly making his way towards his bedroom Draco stopped outside his son's bedroom door. Poking his head inside Draco spotted Scorpius fast asleep, sprawled out on his stomach and illuminated by the moonlight that flowed in through his partially shut curtains. Quietly shutting the door behind him Draco briefly looked into his daughter's empty bedroom before heading down the hallway towards the large bedroom he shared with his wife.

Hermione was sitting at her dressing table, brushing her long hair when Draco entered the room.

"Did you have a nice time?" Hermione asked without turning around.

"Yeah, I won quite a bit off Greg and Ron. Neither of them can play poker to save their lives." Draco said, sitting down on the bed and pulling off his shoes.

Draco continued to get undressed before heading into the bathroom. When he returned Hermione was already sitting in bed, an envelope in her hands.

"Is that from Lyra?" Draco asked, getting into bed next to his wife.

"Yes, it's addressed to both of us so I thought I'd wait for you before I read it." Hermione said, turning the letter over in her hand.

"That must have killed you, having the letter but not reading it." Draco chuckled at the torment the letter would have provided for his wife.

"You have no idea." Hermione muttered. "I nearly opened it several times, but I restrained myself."

"Well you don't have to restrain yourself any longer, open it." Draco told his obviously excited wife.

Hermione eagerly tore open the letter and began reading it out loud. Both Hermione and Draco were pleased that the letter was full of positivity, Lyra had made a couple of friends already and she sounded eager to begin lessons. After a fairly long and detailed description of her day Lyra finally revealed the information both parents had been eager to hear, which house she was sorted into.

"Oh, she's a Gryffindor." Hermione exclaimed in excitement as she read the final part of her daughter's letter.

Draco smiled at the news, it had been obvious that morning the Lyra wanted to be in Gryffindor so he was pleased his daughter had gotten her wish.

* * *

**A/N - While I have most of the story planned out and have my own ideas about what's going to happen now Ginny is back, I am interested in people's opinions on what they would like to see happen to her. Do people want to see her get away with killing Lucius or do you think she should be punished? If you think she should be punished, what sort of punishment would you like to see? **

**I would be grateful for all opinions as I make the final decisions on what's going to happen to Ginny.**


	3. Chapter 3

Excitement aboard The Hogwarts Express was beginning to reach fever pitch, the red engine was now less than an hour away from its destination. King's Cross Station was rapidly approaching as the students started getting in the festive mood, Christmas was only a few days away and the students were looking forward to seeing their families for the first time since September.

Amid all the excitement and chaos sat a first year Gryffindor, silently looking out of the train window. On a whole Lyra Malfoy had thoroughly enjoyed her first term at Hogwarts, she'd made quite a few new friends and was really enjoying the lessons. The only problem Lyra had was a Gryffindor in second year, the boy in question had never even glanced in Lyra's direction but Lyra had definitely noticed him.

Lyra had noticed the boy in her first week at school, his uncanny resemblance to her father and brother had been unmissable. A few well asked questions had revealed to Lyra that the boy in question was Thomas DuPlessis, apparently he was originally from South Africa. Lyra had watched him closely all term as she tried to determine how much of his looks he had in common with her father. The platinum blond hair and piercing grey eyes were practically identical to her father's but Lyra found the closer you looked the more differences she could find. Overall Thomas's features weren't as sharp as her father's and then there was his slightly darker skin tone.

Despite finding differences between Thomas and her father, it was the similarities that had Lyra concerned. The only people Lyra had ever seen with platinum blond hair was her father, her brother and her grandfather, in the occasional pictures she had seen of him. Despite trying not to think about it Lyra found herself wondering if Thomas was a relative, and judging by the distinct similarities to her father she was worrying in case he was a close relative. Lyra knew the obvious solution was that Thomas was her father's son, but she refused to believe that her father would ever cheat on her mother.

Lyra's thoughts were still on the boy that resembled her father as the train pulled into King's Cross Station. She still hadn't decided if she should mention him to her parents. Lyra was curious about what they would say but she was also slightly worried in case mentioning him caused problems.

After saying goodbye to her friends Lyra grabbed her bag and hopped off the train. As she looked around for her parents Lyra suddenly spotted Thomas with an older man, the man looked to be her grandmother's age so Lyra wondered if he was the boy's grandfather. Tearing her attention away from the mystery boy Lyra turned round, spotting her mother rapidly approaching her.

"Lyra." Hermione greeted her daughter with a hug. "Are you enjoying school?"

"Yeah, school's great. Where's dad?" Lyra suddenly realised her mother was alone.

"He's working, although he should be home by the time we get there." Hermione said, checking the time.

Lyra smiled and grabbed the hand her mother was offering. Shutting her eyes tightly Lyra felt the tug of apparition taking hold of her and within minutes she was standing safely in the front hallway at home. After taking her bag to her room Lyra went back downstairs to see if her father was home, she was fairly sure that she had decided to mention Thomas to her parents but she had also decided not to do it on her first night home.

* * *

...

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Christmas Eve for The Malfoy family was always spent with Draco's mother, Narcissa. For the first few years following Lucius's death Narcissa would spend the entire festive season with Draco, Hermione and the children but as she was now remarried they settled for just spending Christmas Eve together.

Narcissa had gotten married for the second time five and a half years ago to a muggle she had met on a cruise. Narcissa had been on the cruise with her best friend, Sylvia Parkinson, when she had met her future husband, a man named Simon Morris who had made his fortune in the property business. Narcissa had only intended for the relationship to be a holiday romance but when the holiday was over Simon made it clear that he had no intention of letting Narcissa slipping through his grasp. After speaking to Draco and receiving her son's approval Narcissa embarked on a relationship with Simon.

When Narcissa first told him that she was a witch Simon was stunned, but by then he loved her enough to accept the oddness of what she was telling him. A year after they first met the couple were married. While it seemed sudden to some people that they would marry so quick both Narcissa and Simon were confident their relationship was a permanent one.

Simon and Draco had immediately hit it off and Simon treated Draco like the son he had always wanted. Simon did have a daughter of his own, Stella. She was a few years older than Draco and lived in America. Simon and Narcissa visited her quite often, Draco and Hermione only saw her a couple of times a year but she was really nice and welcomed having more family. Simon also treated Lyra and Scorpius like his own grandchildren, he showed no preference to his daughter's two children and spoiled all four children rotten.

As usual on Christmas Eve, Narcissa had organised a lavish meal for the family. Narcissa herself couldn't actually cook but between her money and the money that came in from Simon's successful business they could afford to hire a few people to help around the large house in which they lived.

Dinner was nearly over when Simon asked Lyra how she was enjoying school. Until then the young girl had actually forgotten about the mysterious boy who looked like her father, since returning home for the holidays she had been so busy helping Hermione prepare for Christmas that she hadn't given him a second thought.

As Lyra told her grandparents about Hogwarts she debated mentioning the mysterious boy, with her grandmother also present she might know about a distant relative that he could be related to and it might stop her worrying. Lyra finished talking about the magic she had been learning before mentioning Thomas.

"You know there's a boy at school that looks just like dad." Lyra said, watching Draco for his reaction.

"What do you mean he looks just like me?" Draco asked puzzled.

"His hair is exactly the same shade as yours and Scorp's and he even has grey eyes." Lyra explained. "I was wondering if he could be related to us but he's South African."

"What's he called?" Narcissa asked, wondering if there was a distant relative to the Malfoy family in South Africa.

"Thomas DuPlessis." Lyra replied, again watching her father for his response. The name didn't seem to ring any bells with him as he looked just as confused as when she first mentioned Thomas.

"The name's not familiar." Narcissa mused. Years of living in a Malfoy home meant she knew the family tree practically off be heart and she couldn't remember the name DuPlessis appearing on it.

"What year is he in?" Hermione asked. She'd already come up with a possibility of who the boy could be, she was just hoping she was wrong.

"Second." Lyra answered, missing the look her parents shared at the information.

Narcissa however didn't miss the look her son and daughter-in-law shared. Before she had a chance to question them though Draco dismissed the whole thing as a strange coincidence and changed the subject. Lyra seemed happy with Draco's dismissal as she started bickering with her brother, Narcissa however was not satisfied and wanted a real explanation from her son.

"Why don't you two take your ice-cream into the front room and watch some television." Narcissa said to her grandchildren as dessert was served. "We'll follow you in a bit and we can all open a present each."

Lyra and Scorpius grabbed their bowls of ice-cream and headed into the front room. The sounds of them bickering over what to watch floated into the dining room until Narcissa closed the doors and cast a silencing charm around the room.

"Would you two care to explain what's going on?" Narcissa said to Draco and Hermione. "It was clear that you both know who this mystery boy is."

"We don't know exactly, but we do have a good idea who he is." Hermione said as Narcissa returned to her seat at the table.

"Please tell me I don't have another grandson." Narcissa glared at Draco. She hoped she'd raised Draco well enough so that he wouldn't cheat like his father.

"No." Draco said vehemently. "I would never cheat on Hermione."

"Good." Narcissa sighed in relief. "I never really though you would but I had to check."

"It's okay, I suppose the boy being mine was the most logical explanation." Draco admitted. He was just hoping that Lyra hadn't come to that conclusion.

"So if the boy isn't yours than who is he?" Simon asked from his seat beside Narcissa.

"I think he's my half-brother." Draco said, watching as his mother paled.

"Half-brother." Narcissa whispered. "But that would mean Lucius had another child."

"Ginny was pregnant when she fled." Hermione said. "She wasn't certain who the father was but she was leaning towards it being Lucius's baby."

"I'm sorry for not telling you." Draco told his mother, who was still looking shocked by the news. "You'd already been through so much that I didn't want to cause you any more pain."

Narcissa looked up at her son, who was watching her with a guilty look on his face. "I understand why you didn't tell me." She reassured Draco with a small smile. "Honestly, I'm pleased I didn't know at the time, it would have made everything so much worse. In fact I wish I still didn't know."

"Sorry." Draco said, wishing his mother had never found out about his father's love child.

"I have a question." Simon said. He knew all about Lucius and what had happened to his wife's first husband. "How is this boy able to attend Hogwarts? I thought his mother had fled the country after what happened."

"She did. In fact she's still a wanted criminal." Hermione said, her mind whirling over the possibilities. "So how is her son in the country and attending Hogwarts? I thought the names of children born with magic were recorded in each country and they would receive an acceptance letter from the nearest magical school. Hogwarts is not the nearest school to South Africa."

"All you need is money and your child can attend any school you wish." Narcissa said. "Despite Draco being born in this country Lucius wanted him to attend Durmstrang. He would have happily paid the school thousands of galleons to accept him if I hadn't put my foot down and insisted he stayed nearer to home."

"So someone with money has bought the boy his way into Hogwarts." Simon said.

"Possibly." Hermione said. "Although I don't get why Ginny would send her son miles away to attend school. There's no way I'd be comfortable with sending either Lyra or Scorpius to a school abroad."

"Maybe she hasn't." Draco said thoughtfully. "Maybe she's came back with him."

"There's no way she'd risk coming home, it's too dangerous." Hermione shook her head.

"Not if you've got a rich wizard to protect you." Draco said.

"How do you know she's got a rich wizard to protect her?" Hermione asked her husband.

"Lyra said the boys surname was DuPlessis, I've been thinking and I think I recognise the name. Last year Jacques DuPlessis moved his business to London, he owns a chain of wizarding hotels and is pretty rich." Draco said. "And he's South African."

"So you think Ginny is involved with this wizard and has come home?" Hermione questioned. It seemed a long shot that Ginny had found a rich wizard to cosy up after fleeing the country but things were adding up to that conclusion.

"Yes, I think that's exactly what's happened." Draco nodded. "Although it would need some looking into before it could be proved."

"Does that mean you're going to the authorities after Christmas?" Simon asked.

"I don't know." Draco admitted. "What do you want to do, mother?"

Narcissa had been quiet for a while as she digested the news that her husband had fathered a child with someone else. Despite trying not to she couldn't help dwelling on the miscarriages she had suffered as her and Lucius tried for a second child. Now he had a second child that he would never know.

"I want to forget all about Ginny Weasley and her son." Narcissa announced as she stood up. "What happened with your father is in the past, I've worked hard to move on with my life and I have no intention of reliving the pain Lucius caused. You can do what you like about her and the boy, but I don't wish to know any more."

Just after Lucius's murder there was nothing Narcissa wanted more than to see her husband's killer languishing behind bars. While she would still like to see Ginny punished for her crimes more than ten years had passed and Narcissa didn't want to dwell on the past. It had taken her a long time to recover from what had happened with Lucius but now she had a good life that she didn't want to disturb by digging up the past.

Narcissa's life revolved around her family and she had no intention of dragging the ghost of her dead husband back into her life. She now had a husband who treated her like a queen and gave her everything she wanted, including his undivided attention and love. She also had a son, a daughter-in-law and a step-daughter, all of whom she loved dearly, not to mention her two sets of grandchildren. Like Simon, who thought of Lyra and Scorpius as his grandchildren, Narcissa thought of Stella's two little boys as her grandsons.

"You're really just going to walk away and not bother about seeing if she gets punished for what she did?" Draco asked his mother, not quite understanding her attitude.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do." Narcissa said. "It's all in the past and that's where I intend to keep it. I don't want to hear anything more about Ginny Weasley. Is that understood?"

"Yes." Draco nodded.

"Good." Narcissa said. "Now let's get back to our Christmas celebrations. I'm sure the children are dying to open a present each."

Turning on her heel Narcissa left the dining room, Simon following behind her. Hermione and Draco looked at each other before they too got up and left the dining room. They knew they would have to discuss the possibility that Ginny had returned but right now it was Christmas Eve and they had their family to think about.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N- I would just like to thank everyone who had left a review for this story. I really appreciate all the feedback I get from you all, Thanks.**

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Hermione ignored the sounds of her bickering children and the shouts of Draco trying to control them as she continued to get dressed. It was early on boxing day afternoon and as usual the Malfoy family was preparing to head to The Burrow for the rest of the day. Hermione had spent some part of Christmas with The Weasley's since her school days and years later that still hadn't changed, even the events with Ginny hadn't changed the fact that she was considered part of the Weasley family.

Once she was dressed Hermione put on her new necklace and earing set she had received from Draco as part of her Christmas present, the other part of her present had been a set of expensive lingerie. The necklace and earrings were shaped like flowers and the stones on the petals were enchanted to change colour to match whatever Hermione was wearing. Looking in the mirror Hermione watched as the diamond stones turned turquoise, matching the shade of her dress exactly.

As Hermione was finishing her hair she wondered if the topic of Ginny would come up in conversation while at The Burrow. Most Christmases Molly ended up having a cry over her wayward daughter. Hermione always felt guilty when Molly would confide in her how much she missed Ginny, she had often wondered if her and Draco had done the right thing by not telling Ginny's family she was pregnant when she left. This year however with the possibility Ginny was back Hermione was preparing herself to fell even more guilty if Ginny was mentioned.

So far Hermione and Draco hadn't spoken about the revelations on Christmas Eve. By the time they had left Narcissa's house on Christmas Eve it was already late and after getting the children off to bed and organising their presents for the following day neither Hermione or Draco had the energy to discuss the possibility that Ginny was back. They also hadn't discussed it on Christmas Day either, most of the daytime was spent with Lyra and Scorpius and when the couple did get some time alone talking was the last thing on their mind.

For the last couple of months Hermione and Draco had been talking about the possibility of expanding the family. Draco was especially keen to have another child and just before Christmas Hermione had agreed they could start trying for a third child. Draco's present of sexy underwear had come in very handy on Christmas night as the couple started trying to conceive.

Pushing all thoughts of Ginny and the problems she could potentially bring to their lives aside, Hermione picked up her bag and left the bedroom. Entering the front room she found Lyra sitting on the sofa reading while Scorpius and Draco were arguing over what Scorpius could take to The Burrow. Every year Scorpius and Lyra took a couple of their Christmas presents to The Burrow so all the children could play together and show what they had received for Christmas.

Scorpius and Draco seemed to be arguing over the small box of Weasley Wizard Wheezes products Scorpius had received off George as a present. Hermione had been shocked when Scorpius had opened the present on Christmas morning, she could have sworn that the box wasn't under the tree the previous night. Hermione was also surprised by the present as Scorpius already had a gift off George and his wife Angelina, clearly the redhead had snuck a little extra gift to Scorpius.

"Scorpius, you are not taking that box." Draco insisted. "Pick something else."

"But, that's not fair." Scorpius pouted and crossed his arms in a huff.

"I don't care if it's fair." Draco said to his son. "After what happened yesterday, you're not taking that box to someone else's house."

"That was an accident." Scorpius moaned. "I didn't mean to drop an exploding pill into the gravy."

During Christmas dinner the previous day Scorpius had smuggled a few items from the box to the dining room table. Somehow the eight year old had dropped one of George's exploding pills into the gravy and it had blown up. Luckily Draco was holding his wand at the time and had quick enough reflexes to make sure the gravy didn't splatter over everyone.

"Scorp, pick something else now." Hermione interrupted the argument. "You've got two minutes before we leave."

Moaning about being unfairly treated Scorpius returned his Weasley Wizard Wheezes box to his pile of presents. Picking up a box of Quidditch figures he returned to where his parents and sister were waiting for him in front of the fire. After Hermione had double checked that Scorpius wasn't smuggling any joke products the family headed for The Burrow. Draco went first followed by Lyra while Hermione and Scorpius went through the floo network together.

The moment Hermione and Scorpius stepped out of the fire, Scorpius rushed off to find Fred. As Draco and Hermione greeted Molly and Arthur, Hermione spotted Lyra over the other side of the room sitting with a few of the younger girls. Whenever they were at The Burrow Lyra usually spent most of her time with Bill and Fleur's middle child Dominique, but Bill and Fleur had spent Christmas in France with Fleur's family so they weren't around.

Looking around Hermione noticed that Percy, his wife Audrey and their two children were also missing. When Hermione inquired about their absence Molly informed her that Percy's youngest was ill so they had decided to skip visiting The Burrow. Despite both Bill and Percy missing the festivities the house was still packed. Charlie was the only Weasley sibling without children but George and Ron were present with their children as was Harry. Like Hermione, Harry was considered part of the Weasley family and was always present at family events and celebrations.

As well as little Fred, George and Angelina had a two year old daughter called Roxanne. Ron and Luna had a set of twin girls, Esmeralda and Tiana, aged five. Both girls were exactly like Luna, with their dreamy expressions and odd little ways, if it hadn't been for their long red hair it would be impossible to tell they were Weasley's. Harry and Pansy also had two children, James was three while Lily was nine.

As Hermione spoke with some more of the family she kept an eye out for George, so far the troublesome redhead was nowhere to be seen. Ten minutes after arriving Hermione was busy talking to Angelina when George emerged from the stairway.

"George Weasley, I want a word with you." Hermione called, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Hermione, how lovely to see you. You look ravishing." George greeted, playing up to his watching family. The compliment also elicited a soft growl from Draco, he was very possessive of Hermione and hated other men paying her too much attention.

"Flattery won't work, George." Hermione said, glaring at the redhead.

"It was worth a try." George shrugged, totally unconcerned that Hermione was still glaring at him. "So what have I done now?"

"How about we start with the fact you gave Scorpius a box of Weasley Wizard Wheezes products." Hermione said. "You know I like to monitor what he gets from your shop."

"Yeah, but you only buy him the boring stuff. I thought he should have some of my good stuff." George said. "He only gets that when Draco sneakily brings him to the shop."

Hermione turned to glare at her husband, who was too busy scowling at George to pay much attention to his wife.

"Sorry, was that a secret." George grinned. He knew that Draco would be able to calm Hermione down so he wasn't worried about revealing his secret, George would never have mentioned it if he honestly thought it would cause real problems for the couple.

"You're a sneaky git, Weasley." Draco muttered. The truth was Draco liked visiting George's shop just as much as Scorpius and he took a keen interest in any new inventions George had on the go.

"I would say you're the sneaky one." Hermione said, drawing Draco's attention back to his wife.

"It was only a few times." Draco said, praying George wouldn't contradict him and tell Hermione they visited the shop at least once a fortnight.

As Draco attempted to talk his way out of trouble everyone got back to their own conversations. Satisfied Hermione and Draco would be busy for some time George snuck off to find little Fred and Scorpius. The two eight years olds were proving ideal candidates to take over his and Fred's mantle as pranksters, by the time the two boys started Hogwarts George was confident they would be a force to be reckoned with and would cause some major trouble.

* * *

...

* * *

"Have you picked a prank?" George asked the two boys.

George was currently sitting under the kitchen table with Fred and Scorpius, they were completely hidden from view by the long table cloth that was on the table. Fred also had a box of products identical to the one Scorpius had received and the two boys were rummaging through it trying to find something they could use to play a prank.

"This." Fred said, holding up a tiny bottle of liquid.

"Ah, the hair dye." George grinned at the choice. The contents of the bottle were completely clear and taste free, all you had to do was slip it into someone's drink and within ten minutes their hair would change colour.

"Do you have a target?" George asked.

The two boys consulted for a couple of minutes before nodding. "Lyra." Scorpius said, smirking at the thought of dying his sister's hair.

"I'm not sure that would work very well." George said after a few minutes of contemplation. He knew full well that Lyra was quite picky about her hair but he had a different target in mind. "What colour is the dye?"

Scorpius scanned the bottle to find the required information. "Pink." He announced.

"Exactly, and not just any shade of pink, bright pink." George said. "Now who do you think would look funny with bright pink hair?"

"Uncle Ron." Fred said with a giggle.

"Yeah, he would actually." George laughed. "Who do you think would look the funniest, Scorp?"

Scorpius had been thinking hard about the question and had spent the last few minutes picturing everyone with pink hair. "Dad." He eventually settled on an answer.

"Exactly." George grinned. Lyra's fussiness about her hair had come from Draco and George could only imagine the blond's reaction to having pink hair for the afternoon.

"Do you think he'll be mad?" Scorpius asked. On a whole Draco actually enjoyed Scorpius' pranks but the boy was worried that he might not find it so amusing to be on the receiving end of one.

"He might be at first, but he'll see the funny side eventually." George reassured Scorpius. Once over George would never had considered including Draco in his pranks but the former Slytherin had proved to be a good sport and he was confident that he wouldn't be too mad at the boys.

"What do we do now?" Scorpius asked, wondering how they were going to give his father the potion to dye his hair.

"This is where you work as a team. One of you distracts Draco while the other tips the potion into his drink." George instructed his two little followers how to conduct the perfect prank. "Then you sit back and watch the fun happen."

Once he was satisfied Fred and Scorpius could carry out the prank George snuck out from under the table. As he left the kitchen his mother and Hermione were entering it. Not knowing how long it would take the boys to sneak out from under the table George settled in the front room, making sure Draco was in his line of vision the entire time.

* * *

...

* * *

Hermione listened quietly to Molly as she confessed how much she missed Ginny. The two women were currently in the kitchen, Hermione helping Molly put the final preparations to the large spread of food she had laid out. Hermione concentrated on laying out a plate of cakes as she tried to ignore the little voice in her head that was telling her to inform Molly of everything she knew regarding Ginny.

"I just wish I knew if she was safe." Molly sighed. On a whole she tried not to mention her daughter as it was too upsetting but at Christmas and on her birthday Molly felt so overwhelmed by her absence that she needed to talk.

"I'm sure she's fine, Molly." Hermione said.

As the two women were talking and preparing the food neither noticed the two small boys appear from under the table. When Hermione turned round to find Scorpius and Fred standing beside the table she assumed they had just entered the room.

"Are you boys alright?" Hermione asked.

"Yes." Scorpius nodded. "Can we have a bottle of juice, please?"

"Of course." Molly smiled and grabbed two bottles of juice from the fridge. "Do you want me to open them for you?"

"No." Fred shook his head as his grandmother handed the bottles over. They were planning on using the bottles as a way to distract Scorpius' father so having them open would be no good.

"Thank you." Both boys chorused as they left the room.

"Why do I get the feeling those two are up to something?" Hermione asked, looking at the retreating back of her son and his best friend.

"Because they probably are." Molly laughed. "I spent most of Fred and George's childhood wondering what they would do next."

"I don't know how you coped, Scorpius is bad enough on his own." Hermione said. "Dealing with two at a time would be a nightmare."

"It was." Molly nodded. "But it was worth it. It's just a shame we now only have one of them. I would go through all the torment a second time if only we still had Fred."

As Molly started to cry softly Hermione went over to the older woman and hugged her. Hermione couldn't help but feel sorry for the older witch, first she had lost Fred during the war then she had lost Ginny when she had fled the country. After a few minutes Molly composed herself and the two women finished off the food.

"We should go and tell the others we're ready." Molly said, drying her tears and checking she hadn't forgotten any food.

Before either woman could move however they heard a yell from the front room followed by laughter. Exchanging confused looks Molly and Hermione made their way to the front room. When they reached the doorway however they stopped and stared at the sight that greeted them.

Standing in the middle of the room looking totally shell-shocked was Draco, only instead of his normal platinum blond hair his locks were bubble-gum pink. The rest of the room was in hysterics as they watched the former Slytherin constantly run his hands through his hair.

"What's happened?" Hermione asked, trying hard not to laugh at the sight of her husband with pink hair.

Molly had already failed to keep a straight face and she was standing next to Hermione chuckling softly.

"Pink." Draco choked out. "Pink! My hair's pink."

"I can see that." Hermione said, unable to stop a small giggle from escaping her lips. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything." Draco replied indignantly. "It was those two devils, I know it was."

As he was talking Draco pointed to Scorpius and Fred who were rolling on the floor, tears streaming down their faces as they creased up with laughter.

"I don't know why you're so upset, it suits you." George laughed.

"You were in on it." Draco accused, rounding on the redhead. He tried to look menacing but the bright pink hair made it impossible for Draco to look intimidating.

"I don't know what you mean." George shrugged.

"Fix it, now." Draco growled.

"I can't." George said.

Draco paled at the thought it might be permanent, he didn't want to live with pink hair or have to shave it off. Draco shuddered at the thought of having no hair.

"It'll wear off over the course of the day." George admitted, taking pity on the former Slytherin. "By midnight, your hair will be back to normal."

"It better be." Draco warned George before he turned back to look in the mirror that hung over The Weasley's fireplace.

"The food's out." Molly announced, hoping to distract her family from the pink haired Slytherin.

The thought of food soon had the family rushing into the kitchen, although they continued to talk and laugh about Draco's hair.

Once everyone had headed into the kitchen Hermione approached Draco, who was still looking in the mirror and looking worriedly at his hair.

"This is awful." Draco sighed, turning round to face Hermione.

"It'll wear off." Hermione shrugged. She had managed to control her laughter but she still couldn't help but smirk at the sight of Draco with pink hair.

"It bloody better." Draco muttered darkly. "I'm going to kill Scorp when we get home."

"Don't be so hard on him. If it had been anyone else they had done this to you would have thought it was hilarious." Hermione said.

Draco reluctantly agreed with his wife, if it had happened to anyone else he would have been one of the first ones laughing and mocking.

"I wonder what they used to dye your hair." Hermione mused, reaching out and running her hands through her husband's pink hair. "It's a good covering. If it wasn't for the fact it was pink you could mistake it for natural colouring."

"What difference does it make what they used?" Draco asked. "My hair is still pink."

"Stop complaining." Hermione laughed. "Come and get some food."

"Everyone's going to laugh." Draco complained.

Hermione smiled and grabbed hold of Draco's hand. "Come on, I'll look after you. I promise to yell at anyone who laughs at you."

Hermione led Draco into the kitchen and the couple were instantly greeted with laughter. Hermione opened her mouth and was just about to tell everyone to be quiet when Draco stopped her.

"Don't, you'll spend all day shouting." He said, wrapping his arms around his wife's waist from his position behind her. "Besides, I suppose it is pretty funny."

For the rest of the afternoon Draco good-naturedly accepted the laughing and mocking. He even found time to ask Scorpius and Fred exactly what they had done, it turned out when Scorpius had asked him to open his bottle of juice Fred had slipped the dye potion into his drink.

By the time the Malfoy's left The Burrow for the night Draco's hair was still pink, although over the course of the afternoon it had faded dramatically. Just like George said by midnight Draco's hair was back to normal, much to his relief.


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione fussed over Lyra, making sure her daughter had everything for her to return to school. She knew she was fussing more than necessary but she was hoping if Lyra was concentrating on her she wouldn't notice how distracted Draco was. They were currently on platform nine and three quarters as Lyra prepared to return to school after Christmas break.

Draco hadn't originally intended on accompanying them but at the last minute he had taken the day of work so he could be there. Hermione was well aware that seeing Lyra off wasn't his main reason for coming, he was hoping to get a look at the mysterious boy they thought might be his half-brother.

"Will you stop looking around and pay attention to your daughter." Hermione hissed to her husband as Lyra was distracted with her bag.

When Draco turned to Lyra, a guilty look on his face, Hermione felt bad for insinuating he was being a negligent father. Draco was actually a great father and no matter what he was doing he always made time for both of their children, making sure Lyra and Scorpius both knew how much he cared about them.

A few minutes before the train was due to depart a friend of Lyra's appeared and the two girls headed onto the train. Once Lyra was gone Hermione noticed that Draco once again began scanning the crowds in search of his half-brother. When she felt Draco tense up beside her she knew he had found what he was looking at.

Following her husband's gaze Hermione found the boy in question, her breath catching when she saw him. There was no doubt he was a Malfoy, he looked incredibly like Draco had at his age and could easily be mistaken for Scorpius' older brother. Both Hermione and Draco continued watching until the boy had boarded the train.

The couple stayed on the platform until the red engine had started it's long journey back up to Scotland. Once the train had left the station Hermione and Draco returned home where Hermione was hoping they would finally discuss what was going on with Ginny and her son. Scorpius was spending the day at Angelina and George's house with little Fred so Hermione knew they would have the house to themselves for a few hours.

Since finding out about Ginny's potential return and Lucius's son being at Hogwarts the couple hadn't really discussed matters. Initially Christmas had been their main priority but once the festivities died down Hermione had tried talking to Draco and found he wasn't ready to discuss the problem. Hermione wasn't too surprised by Draco's silence, she knew from experience that her husband liked to have things settled in his own mind before discussing them.

"Are we ever going to discuss this?" Hermione asked, once they had arrived home.

"Yes." Draco sighed, sitting down on the sofa and running his hand through his hair.

Despite what Lyra had said he had still been hoping his daughter was mistaken about the boy at school but after seeing him for himself Draco now knew for certain that he had a sibling. Growing up Draco had longed for a sibling to play with but things were very different now and he now had a half-brother in less than ideal circumstances.

"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked, sitting down next to her husband. "I've been trying to convince myself that Lyra was mistaken, but there's no denying it now. That boy was definitely your brother, which means Ginny's probably back."

"I don't know what to do, Hermione." Draco admitted. "She killed my father and a large part of me wants to see her punished for what she did. But every time I think about going to the Auror's I think of everyone else who would be hurt. Molly, Arthur, the rest of her family, but mostly Thomas. I was brought up to believe that family comes first, no matter what. I know I've never met him and I have no idea if I ever will but he's my brother and I don't want him to suffer just because of who his parents are."

"Maybe we should start by confirming our suspicions regarding Ginny." Hermione suggested. "Maybe we can then speak to her before we make any final decisions on what to do and who to tell."

"If she is back, what makes you think she'll even talk to us?" Draco questioned. "In her position I wouldn't speak to us."

"We also have a second option." Hermione said, doubting Draco would consider her second suggestion. "We forget all about Ginny and Thomas. Our lives can continue on as normal."

"I don't think I can." Draco said. "I've wondered about Thomas for twelve years. I've spent ages wondering if I had a brother or sister somewhere or did Blaise have a child he would never know. Now I know who he is and who his father is, I don't think I can just walk away."

"Do you want to meet him?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know." Draco shrugged helplessly, he hated being so indecisive but he honestly had no idea what he wanted. "It's difficult because we have no idea what he knows about Lucius, if he even knows anything. I don't want to ruin his life."

"You wouldn't ruin his life, darling." Hermione said, taking hold of Draco's hand. "It's not as if you're planning on randomly walking up to him and introducing yourself as his brother."

"This is such a mess." Draco said. "I have no idea what to do. Whatever I decide someone's going to get hurt. More people are going to get hurt if we turn her in but if we don't I'm not sure I can forgive myself for letting my father's killer go free."

"You let her go free originally." Hermione pointed out.

"That was different." Draco argued. "She'd ran and by the time we discovered she had killed father she had been gone a week. You heard Blaise's story, I never would have found her. But now I could potentially know who she is, even if I'm not sure where she is at the minute."

"Have you ever thought that maybe all you really need is closure." Hermione suggested. "Because Ginny ran all we knew was what Blaise knew, we never had Ginny's version of events. Maybe if you spoke to her you could make a more informed decision as to what to do."

"You honestly think if I talk to her I wouldn't want to see her arrested?" Draco asked, bewildered by the concept. He'd always thought that anything Ginny would have to say would only make him hate her more.

"I don't know." Hermione admitted with a shrug. "I'm just suggesting that maybe finding her and speaking to her might help. It might even be a step towards meeting Thomas if that's what you decided you want to do."

"Maybe." Draco mused. "Although if we didn't tell the Auror's it would be for Thomas. I'm pretty sure he's the only reason I haven't already spoken to them."

"What happens if we don't tell the Auror's?" Hermione questioned. "Would we tell anyone else she's back."

"I have no idea. Telling people would be complicated, but you could argue a few people deserve to know what's happening." Draco said. "Blaise for example deserves to know he isn't a father. Despite the fact he's just got married and he's happy the thought that he maybe has a child somewhere still haunts him."

"Then there's Molly and Arthur." Hermione sighed. "Maybe we should have told them years ago that Ginny was pregnant. If they ever found out she was back they could hate us for not telling them the truth."

"If they ever found out." Draco said. "Don't forget by telling Molly and Arthur you're essentially telling the entire family."

"I know, but don't they deserve to know Ginny's safe and well." Hermione argued.

"Maybe, but what about Ron and Harry?" Draco asked, wondering if Hermione had even considered the position her two best friends would find themselves in if they knew about Ginny. "They're both Auror's, Harry is even Head Auror. If they knew they would have a choice to make between doing their jobs and being loyal to their family."

"Damn." Hermione cursed, she'd never thought about Harry and Ron's careers. "You're right, this is a mess. Why the hell has she came back? All these problems could have been avoided if she'd stayed away."

"Well she hasn't and now we have to decide what to do." Draco said, resenting Ginny for messing up their lives yet again.

"We will." Hermione said, leaning into Draco. "Somehow we'll sort everything out."

"I hope so." Draco sighed, settling back on the sofa with Hermione snuggled up next to him.

* * *

...

* * *

Sitting in his office Draco tried his best to concentrate on his work rather than staring at the open window in search of an owl. Yet again Draco had tried to get an appointment to see Jacques DuPlessis but so far the older wizard was stonewalling him. After weeks of research Draco was fairly certain that Ginny was indeed married to the South African wizard and he had decided the best way to approach things would be through him.

The day after his talk with Hermione, Draco had started looking into the life of Jacques DuPlessis as he tried to establish whether he was married to his father's killer. Information about the wizard was scare and Draco soon discovered that for all the man owned an extremely successful business and was a public figure his private life was shrouded in mystery. Draco found out a ton of things about Jacques business affairs before he even found a hint of gossip surrounding his private life.

Eventually Draco found a mention of Jacques wife, a younger witch who was rarely seen in public. A bit more digging revealed that the first mention of Jacques's wife in the press was just over four years after Lucius's death, the same press report also mentioned his young son. Because Jacques was so private he was able to claim he had been married for some time so Draco had no idea how long he had actually been married.

Despite trying numerous times to get into the South African records on marriages and births Draco was unable to gain the information he required, even hefty bribes to officials were getting him nowhere. The fact that Draco was unable to access a marriage certificate for Jacques and his wife and a birth certificate for Thomas had his suspicions raised. Even if Jacques was a private man the fact he had hidden the records for his marriage and his son's birth proved to Draco that he had something to hide.

After nearly six weeks of investigation Draco still had no proof that Jacques DuPlessis mystery wife was Ginny, although all the secrecy combined with the fact he had seen Thomas himself meant Draco was fairly confident that Ginny was indeed back and married to the rich, older wizard. Draco knew that he could waste weeks more doing research and still not find out anything else so he decided the best course of action was to speak to the man in question.

Draco had then tried to make an appointment with Jacques DuPlessis but for the last fortnight he had repeatedly been informed that Mr DuPlessis was busy and had no available appointments. When he was repeatedly knocked back Draco started digging and found the address of Jacques DuPlessis and his family. Draco was reluctant to use the address as he really wanted to speak to Jacques privately before he made any final decisions about whether or not he wished to speak to Ginny.

Draco's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an owl flying into his open window and landing on his desk. Draco immediately recognised the owl as the one that had repeatedly brought him rejection letters from Jacques DuPlessis. Untying the letter from its ankle Draco gave the owl a treat before it flew off.

Once the owl was gone Draco opened the letter, sighing in annoyance as he read yet another apology and denial of his request. Annoyed that yet again he was being stonewalled Draco made a decision. After speaking to his secretary and second-in-command, Draco left his office early and headed to the offices of Jacques DuPlessis.

During his research Draco had found the address to the company's headquarters so he knew exactly where to go. The receptionist on the front desk initially refused Draco entry without an appointment but several minutes of flattery and flirting with the young witch earned Draco entrance to the building. Jacques personal assistant proved harder to pass and despite Draco turning on all his charm he couldn't get her to let him into the inner office. After several minutes of pleading and arguing Draco was about to give up hope when the witch took pity on him.

"I really shouldn't be telling you this." The witch sighed, checking no-one was around to hear. "But Mr DuPlessis and his wife have returned to South Africa for a few weeks."

"When did they go?" Draco asked.

"This morning." The witch replied.

"Were they always due to return to South Africa or was this last minute?" Draco was beginning to suspect that Jacques had left because he was trying to speak with him.

"It was last minute." The witch admitted reluctantly. She had been told not to inform Mr Malfoy of her boss's whereabouts but the man was obviously desperate.

"Thank you." Draco smiled at the witch. "I promise I won't tell what you told me."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it."

"No problem." Draco said, turning to the door before suddenly turning back again. "Just out of interest when are they returning home?"

"The last week in March, I think." The witch replied.

Draco once again thanked the witch as he headed out of the building. He was convinced that Jacques DuPlessis and his wife were running from him. Draco also suspected that the only reason they would be returning home was for Thomas, the last week in March was the beginning of the Easter holidays at Hogwarts.

Draco knew that it was possible that as soon as school restarted Jacques and his wife would be off again. That gave him two weeks over the holidays to speak to them and even if it meant going to their home Draco was determined to see the elusive Mr DuPlessis and his younger wife.


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm not sure this is a good idea." Hermione told her pacing husband.

"Why not?" Draco asked. "It's the only thing I can think of, any other attempts I've made of getting in touch are rejected."

It was a week into the Easter holidays and Draco still hadn't had any success with contacting Jacques DuPlessis so he had decided to pay a visit to his house. Draco had just informed Hermione of his plans and she was unimpressed with her husband's decision.

"Have you even thought of what you're going to say?" Hermione asked. "When you first started this you only wanted to see if he was married to Ginny. Now you're determined to speak to both him and Ginny, why?"

"I don't know." Draco admitted, slumping down onto the sofa next to his wife. "Chances are if he'd spoke to me when I originally contacted him I wouldn't want to see her, but the longer this has being going on the more time I've had to think. This is my opportunity to hear her side of the story, I know Blaise told us plenty but it's not the same as hearing it from her."

"Do you want to know why she killed Lucius or do you want to know about their relationship?" Hermione asked, suspecting it was the latter that was what Draco wanted answers about.

"Both, but I want to know more about their relationship." Draco admitted. "They were together for two years and whether I like it or not they clearly cared about each other."

"What if they refuse to see you?" Hermione asked. "You know that's a strong possibility. They've clearly been avoiding you, there's no guarantee they'll let you into their house."

"I know." Draco sighed. "I'm hoping they'll understand all I want to do is talk."

"Have you thought any more about Thomas?" Hermione questioned. "Do you want to meet him?"

"Yes, I think I do." Draco replied. "But I doubt they'd let me, unless he knows the truth my presence would be hard to explain."

"We could always bargain with them. Tell them we won't go to the Auror's about Ginny if she lets you meet Thomas." Hermione suggested.

Draco turned to look at his wife. "That's awfully Slytherin of you, Hermione. Threatening someone to get what you want."

"I'm considering threatening someone to get what you want actually, there's a difference." Hermione said.

"I'm flattered you would threaten people just to make me happy." Draco laughed.

"So you should be, I don't go around threating people for just anyone you know." Hermione smiled.

"Do you really think it's a bad idea?" Draco asked, suddenly turning serious again. "Should I just forget about speaking with her?"

"I doubt forgetting about Ginny will work. I think you at least have to try and speak to her, maybe if she won't see you then you can try and forget all about her." Hermione said.

"That's what I'll do. I'll go and see her and if she won't see me then I won't try again." Draco announced as he stood up.

"Not just yet you won't." Hermione called, stopping her husband as he was about to leave the room. "I'm coming with you. Wait until after lunch when I drop Lyra and Scorp off at The Burrow, then I can be with you."

"Are you coming to be supportive or to keep me out of trouble?" Draco asked.

"Both." Hermione replied as she also stood up. "I'm going to start on lunch, don't you dare leave this house without me." She said as she walked past Draco and exited the room.

Draco rolled his eyes at his wife but he followed her instructions. Instead of leaving the house he found Scorpius and took his son into the garden to fly before Hermione called them both in to eat. After Lunch Hermione took Lyra and Scorpius to The Burrow before returning and accompanying her husband to the DuPlessis property.

* * *

...

* * *

Ginny sat in her front room, the book she was supposedly reading discarded beside her as she worried about recent events. Ginny had been extremely shocked when Jacques had returned from his office in mid-February with the news that he had received an owl from Draco requesting a meeting. Ginny had convinced Jacques to decline the offer, hoping it was just a coincidence that Draco wanted to meet her husband. When Draco persisted with sending owls, Ginny had to accept that her past had caught up with her. She still wasn't ready to face her past though so Jacques suggested they returned home for a few weeks.

During their trip back to South Africa Ginny realised how much she missed the country she now thought of as home and how selfish she had been making her family relocate to England. While she was back home Ginny also had to face the fact that her selfish act to return home had possibly backfired on her and now she would have to pay for her crimes.

Jacques had tried to convince his wife he would protect her and make sure she wasn't punished but by the time they returned to England Ginny was resigned to the fact she had to face up to what she had done. A couple more owls from Draco only confirmed to Ginny that the blond knew of her presence, although she was still too afraid to agree to see him.

Ginny was so lost in her thoughts she was only vaguely aware of a knock on the door and Jacques going to answer it. It was only when she heard two voices she hadn't heard in over a decade that she realised what was happening. Ginny could hear Jacques refusing to allow Draco and Hermione entrance to the house and she was tempted to remain hidden while her husband got rid of her former friends. Despite the temptation to hide she didn't, she instead made her way to the doorway of the front room.

"Jacques, it's okay. Let them in." Ginny said. From her position in the doorway of the front room she could clearly see the front door in the hallway.

"Are you sure?" Jacques asked, turning slightly to face his wife.

"Yes, we need to talk." Ginny replied, looking past her husband and looking at the couple on the doorstep.

"You better come in then." Jacques said, opening the door and allowing the Malfoy's entry.

As Draco and Hermione entered the large hallway they didn't bother to look at what sort of house Ginny lived in, instead all of their attention was on the brunette woman they had once being friends with. Both Hermione and Draco couldn't help but notice how much Ginny had changed, they could easily have bumped into her in the street and never recognised her as the youngest Weasley child.

"Come through." Ginny said, turning and returning to the front room.

Hermione and Draco followed Ginny into the front room. Jacques also followed, shutting the door firmly behind them. Ginny returned to her previous seat and offered Hermione and Draco seats opposite her. Jacques settled himself next to his wife, taking her hand in his in a show of support.

"How did you find me?" Ginny asked. She had originally thought it had been through Thomas that they had found out about her but the fact that Draco hadn't gotten in touch until February didn't seem to fit with that theory.

"Our daughter spotted Thomas when she started school. Over the Christmas holidays she asked about whether he was related to us." Hermione explained. "It didn't take us long to work out who he is."

"I was worried that would happen." Ginny admitted. "Thomas looks a lot like his father."

"You obviously weren't worried enough to stay away." Draco pointed out, his voice sounding a lot harsher than he had intended. "Although I suppose the protection of a rich husband helps."

"It's not like that." Jacques snapped, not liking the younger man's attitude towards his wife.

"Actually it is." Ginny said, stopping her husband from losing control. "I admit I felt safer returning because I know Jacques will protect me."

"He can't protect you from the law, Ginny." Hermione said, annoyed that her former friend believed having a rich husband protected her from what she had done.

"Have you turned me in?" Ginny asked, paling at the thought.

"Not yet." Draco muttered.

"Are you going to?" Jacques asked.

"Why? Do you want advanced warning so you can skip the country?" Draco sneered at the older wizard.

"Draco." Hermione warned her husband as Ginny stopped Jacques from rising to the bait Draco had set.

"Sorry." Draco muttered. He wasn't really sorry but he knew he wouldn't get what he needed if he kept annoying Ginny's husband.

"The answer is no, we're not planning on going to the Auror's at the minute." Hermione said.

"At the minute? That implies you're not totally against informing them of my wife's return." Jacques said, talking directly to Hermione. He much preferred the brunette witch to her snappish husband.

"We're not." Hermione sighed. "You have to understand we're in a difficult position. Plenty of people we care about will be hurt if Ginny is caught but we were hurt by her actions and the fact she never paid for her crime."

"We?" Ginny snorted. "Come off it, Hermione. You weren't hurt by what happened to Lucius. You hated the man and he hated you."

"True." Hermione nodded. "Lucius and I never got along but his death did hurt two people I love very much. Draco and Narcissa both suffered at his death and it hurt me to see them in pain."

Ginny winced at Hermione's words, she was reminded of how much other people had suffered with the death of her lover. At the time Ginny had barely thought about Narcissa and Draco as she mourned for the man she was still in love with.

"I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone." Ginny whispered. "I didn't mean to hit Lucius and I certainly never meant to kill him. I loved him."

"How?" Draco asked. "That's something I've never been able to work out. Father disliked your family, especially Arthur, and he'd caused you all so much pain over the years. He even slipped you an enchanted diary when you were eleven, he wouldn't have cared if it had killed you."

"I know, but he'd changed." Ginny said. "Granted he still never liked my dad, but he treated me really well."

"Yeah, dumping you and telling you to get rid of your unborn baby is really treating you well." Draco mocked.

"His bad reaction was my fault. I knew he wasn't going to be happy about the baby but I could have told him in a better way." Ginny said. The way she told Lucius about the baby had always been one of her biggest regrets, she was convinced that if she had done it differently that Lucius would have supported his child.

"You can't really believe he ever would have reacted differently, can you?" Draco asked, sensing that Ginny thought it was the way she had told his father about the baby that had prompted his bad response. "No matter how you told him, he wouldn't have wanted anything to do with the baby. There was no way father would have allowed an illegitimate child to ruin his reputation as a solid family man."

"I believe he would have supported Thomas." Ginny insisted. "He was a better man than you give him credit for, Draco."

"No, he wasn't." Draco shook his head. "If he was such a good man he wouldn't have cheated on his wife for two years. I don't care if he had real feelings for you, as long as he was married they never should have happened."

"That's a very rigid stance to take." Jacques said. "People fall in love, even when they're married to someone else."

"He didn't fall in love with Ginny then have an affair with her." Draco snapped, annoyed with Jacques attitude towards him. "The affair came first, then the feelings. If he hadn't been desperate enough to shag a witch young enough to be his daughter then this would never have happened."

"You're right." Ginny sighed. "We shouldn't have had an affair but we did. I know I should tell you I'm sorry and I regret it but I can't. I have a son whom I love very much as a product of our relationship and I also loved your father a great deal, I can't regret either of those things. I regret that people got hurt because of our actions but that's all I regret."

"What about what you did in the end? Do you regret that?" Hermione asked. She wanted to get off the topic of Ginny's affair with Lucius as she knew Draco had strong opinions on infidelity and no amount of talking would ever convince him that his father's actions were justified.

"Of course I do." Ginny exclaimed, shocked that Hermione could even question it. "You have no idea how much it killed me knowing I'd ended the life of another human being. I will regret my actions till the day I die."

"Yet, you didn't regret them enough to turn yourself in." Draco said. "You were quite happy to let an innocent man suffer for you while you ran."

"I ran for my baby's sake." Ginny said quietly. She knew really she couldn't justify running but she felt she had to at least try to explain her reasoning. "I didn't want to have my child taken away from me so I would never see them."

"Did you never think that your family would have looked after Thomas while you were away?" Hermione asked. "If you'd admitted what you'd done we might have been able to get you a reduced sentence."

"What do you mean we?" Ginny scoffed. "Everyone would have disowned me."

"We wouldn't." Hermione insisted. "No matter what you'd done your family would have always supported you, you know that. As would Blaise, despite how much you hurt him he would have been there for you."

"So would Hermione and I." Draco added. "You were carrying my half-brother at the time, I would have done all I could to make his life easier."

"I know you would have done whatever you could for Thomas. I always knew you would care about him as you're a good person who loves his family." Ginny said. "But I'd still killed your father, you never would have forgiven that."

"Maybe if you'd admitted it I would have." Draco sighed. "I can understand how it happened and for Thomas's sake I would have done everything in my power to get you a lenient sentence."

"I guess we'll never know." Ginny said softly, wondering if Draco would have said the same thing years ago. She had an awful suspicion he would have and all the running and pain could have been avoided.

"I guess not." Draco said.

"This still hasn't answered the question on whether you're going to the authorities at a later date." Jacques stated as the room lapsed into silence.

"We're not." Draco said.

"Thank you so much, I can't tell you what it means to me." Ginny gushed, breathing a huge sigh of relief.

"I'm not doing it for you." Draco said sharply. "I might have been able to forgive you years ago but not now, not after you ran the way you did."

"Why are you doing this then?" Ginny asked.

"I'm doing it for Thomas." Draco informed Ginny. "He's my family and I don't want him to be hurt."

"You're not seeing him." Jacques suddenly stood up as his voice began to rise in anger. He now understood why Draco had insisted on visiting and he wasn't allowing it.

"I never mentioned seeing him." Draco said. "I'm guessing he doesn't know the truth about his father."

"No he doesn't, and that's the way it's staying." Jacques insisted. "Thomas is my son, I adopted him legally and as far as he's concerned I'm his father."

"I'm not arguing with that." Draco sighed as he stood up. "I admit I would really love to meet him and get to know him but I don't want to cause any problems."

"In that case, I suggest you leave now." Jacques said. "I appreciate your silence in this matter but I think it's best for both our families if we don't speak again."

"Fine." Draco said before turning around and helping Hermione up from the sofa. He was disappointed that he wouldn't get to meet Thomas but he understood that by meeting him it create a lot of awkward questions and possibly result in his brother ending up hurt as he discovered his true parentage.

While Jacques stayed in the front room, Ginny walked Hermione and Draco to the front door.

"Hermione, Draco, it was nice seeing you both again." Ginny said politely as she opened the front door. "And thank you so much for not telling anyone."

As Hermione and Draco left the house and Ginny closed the door behind them she failed to notice a pair of grey eyes watching the departing couple. When Ginny returned to the front room and shut the door a devastated Thomas appeared from the room next door and quietly tiptoed back upstairs to his room.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N - I want to thank everyone for their kind reviews in regards to this story. I know several people are eager for Ginny to face punishment for her crimes and I want to reassure them that it is coming in a future chapter. Until then I hope people enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Thomas sat in his bedroom, staring blankly ahead as he tried to comprehend what he had just heard. In the space of ten minutes his whole life had been thrown into disarray and he didn't have a clue what he was going to do about his new found knowledge.

When Thomas had headed downstairs for a drink he had noticed that the door to the front room was shut but he didn't think anything off it until he was returning to his room. As he was passing the door to the front room he suddenly heard his father raise his voice, as it was unusual for Jacques to yell Thomas stopped in surprise.

Thomas was still standing outside the door when he heard the voice of a man he didn't know saying something about someone not knowing the truth about his real father. When Jacques replied and revealed that they were talking about him Thomas felt ill as his whole world crumbled around him. In a daze Thomas listened to the rest of the conversation, only moving away from the door when he heard people approaching it.

Thomas moved into the room next to the front room and carefully peered into the hallway as his mother emerged with a couple. From the conversation he had overheard Thomas knew the mystery man wanted to meet him and when he saw him he suddenly understood why. Thomas gaped at the man with his platinum blond hair and grey eyes, both matching his own features exactly.

By the time his mother had returned to the front room and he had crept back to his bedroom Thomas was convinced he had just seen his biological father. Over the years Thomas had brushed aside the doubts and questions he had had about his different appearance to his parents. While his father was blond it wasn't anything like his own shade and his grey eyes had always been a mystery, his mother's eyes were brown while his fathers were green. However it would appear that his hair and eyes came from the mystery man he had seen earlier.

Thomas sat for hours thinking about what to do, eventually deciding to confront his parents over dinner. When dinner time arrived however he changed his mind. The second he entered the dining room it was clear to Thomas that his mother was extremely happy and seemed carefree, she was defiantly much happier than she had been over the last few years. With his mother clearly in such a good mood Thomas didn't have the heart to bring up what he had overheard.

His mother's good mood continued for the rest of the holidays and Thomas didn't want to upset her by asking about the man he had seen earlier in the holidays. Thomas thought about asking his father about what he had discovered but he also didn't want to upset him. While Jacques may not have been his biological father he had brought him up and Thomas loved him.

By the time he returned to school Thomas still hadn't confronted either of his parents but he did have another solution in mind, he would go and visit his biological father to get answers. All Thomas had to do now was identify him and find out as much about him as possible. At the minute the extent of Thomas knowledge extended to his name and the name of the woman he was with the day in question, he had heard his mother address the couple as Draco and Hermione.

Thomas was fairly certain he had never heard the name Draco before but the name Hermione seemed to ring a bell with him. Throughout the train ride to Hogwarts Thomas tried to remember where he had heard the woman's name but he couldn't place why it was familiar to him. Thomas's failure to remember where he had heard the name was bugging him, he was pretty sure that the couple were together and he had hoped that if he could find the woman he would find Draco.

Once at school Thomas started his search for a Draco. He was guessing the man was about his mother's age and in all likelihood they attended school together. Thomas started his search in the trophy room, scouring all the names on the various trophies. With years' worth of trophies to look at it took Thomas a good three days but by the end he still hadn't found a surname for the mystery man.

With his school work to think of Thomas couldn't spend all his time trying to solve the mystery so after the first week of term his search was temporarily put on hold as he had several important assignments to work on. It was nearly a month after returning to school that Thomas had a breakthrough, although it came entirely by accident.

Thomas and a few of his friends were sitting in their dorm one night eating chocolate frogs and trading cards when Thomas spotted a familiar name as he flipped through his collection of cards. Pulling the card to the top of the pile he stared at the picture, the brunette witch was younger on the card but he was in no doubt that it was the same one that had visited his house. Thomas checked the name and found the witch in question was Hermione Granger.

As Thomas read the brief writing on the card he realised why the name was so familiar to him. Hermione Granger was one of the three teenagers who had been instrumental in bringing down Lord Voldemort. Before arriving at Hogwarts Thomas knew very little of the two wizarding wars against the dark wizard and his followers but it was one of the first topics covered in History of Magic in his first year.

With his new information Thomas began his research. The first place he looked was Hogwarts: A History as there was a whole chapter dedicated to the battle that had taken place in the castle and the people involved. Skipping over all the ramblings about the battle Thomas found the profiles of the main participants. Once he found Hermione's profile he briefly read about her curricular achievements and her work before moving onto the personal information. Right at the bottom of her profile he found the information he wanted, Hermione Granger was happily married to Draco Malfoy.

The name Malfoy also seemed familiar to Thomas but yet again he couldn't place how. The fact he couldn't remember what context he had heard the name wasn't bothering to Thomas as he knew exactly how he was going to find the information he desired. One of the features in the library was a research corner with old editions of newspapers and magazines, all you needed was the full name of the witch or wizard you were researching and you were supplied with articles about them.

Thomas waited until a Sunday afternoon before heading into the quiet corner of the library, he knew on a Sunday he would be able to read for hours without being disturbed. Once he gave the name of the wizard he was researching Thomas found himself was a stack of magazines and newspapers. Settling down in the comfy chair in the corner Thomas picked up the first article and began reading.

Thomas was shocked and disturbed when the first article he picked up described Draco's trial for being a Death Eater during the war. The more Thomas read however he understood how little choice the blond man had in the matter, he was also impressed with his efforts to make up for his actions after the war. Thomas spent quite a while reading about Draco's business and the success he had made of himself.

When Thomas began reading about Draco and Hermione's relationship he was surprised to find they had been together years before he was born, they even got married mere weeks before his birth. Thomas had been assuming their relationship had begun after either his birth or conception, he hadn't expected to find he was the product of an affair. Thomas was disgusted with Draco for cheating on a woman he looked to adore and he was equally appalled with his mother for sleeping with a man who was clearly in a serious relationship with someone else.

As he continued reading Thomas discovered that Draco and his wife had had a daughter less than eighteen months after his birth, they also had a son three years later. Thomas couldn't find a lot of pictures of Draco and Hermione's children but the few he did find he spent ages scrutinising them, examining his half- brother and sister. Thomas could find very little similarity with the girl, Lyra, but he was very aware how much he looked like the little boy, Scorpius.

After reading about Draco's business and family Thomas started looking into his friends. Thomas was looking for any sign of his mother, the way she addressed both Draco and Hermione implied she was once friendly with them both. Thomas found plenty of information about Draco's group of friends but his mother never appeared with the group.

As he was reading about Draco's friends he found an article about one of the friends going to prison for covering up Draco's father's murder. Intrigued Thomas had found several other articles relating to the murder and read them with interest. As Thomas read about Lucius Malfoy's affair with a younger woman he couldn't help but compare Draco to his father, hopefully he would avoid following in their footsteps as a cheat.

After reading well into the evening Thomas eventually packed up and thought about everything he had learnt. Reading the articles he had come to the conclusion that on a whole Draco was a good man and had worked hard to make up for his past mistakes, he ran a successful business and loved his wife and children very much. What Thomas was struggling to understand however was why he had ever cheated, it was obvious how much he loved his wife. So what had made him cheat on her months before their wedding?

As well as spending time wondering over Draco's infidelity Thomas thought about his half siblings. Growing up he'd always wanted siblings but his parents had never seemed interested in adding to the family. As Thomas though about what Lyra and Scorpius were like he realised that Lyra had most likely started school that year.

With the knowledge that Lyra was most likely at Hogwarts Thomas began to take notice of the first years. He started with Slytherin as he had read many times that all Malfoy's had been sorted into Slytherin, he figured his omission was due to the fact he didn't have the family name. Thomas spent nearly a week trying to find Lyra in Slytherin and had just moved onto Ravenclaw when he found her.

Like the information regarding Hermione, Thomas discovered Lyra's identity by accident. Thomas was sitting in the Gryffindor common read doing his homework when two girls entered through the portrait hole. The girls sat down on a sofa nearby so when the blonde girl called her friend Lyra, Thomas's head shot up. The minute Thomas saw Lyra he could immediately see the resemblance to her mother, he was actually surprised he hadn't noticed her when his search was just beginning.

Once he knew who Lyra was he studied her for weeks, watching how she spoke and interacted with people. Thomas soon discovered that Lyra was very bright and exceptionally warm and friendly, she also had a slight bossy streak and hated to be corrected. Several times Thomas had decided to speak to Lyra but he always chickened out at the last minute.

It was the last week of term before Thomas finally plucked up the courage to speak to the girl he thought was his half-sister. He was walking by the lake when he came across Lyra sitting on the grass throwing small pebbles into the water.

"Hi, can I sit down?" Thomas asked, shuffling his feet nervously.

Lyra looked up to see who had spoken to her, her eyes widening as she saw who it actually was. After speaking with her family over Christmas Lyra had tried to forget all about Thomas, however every time she happened to catch a glimpse of him all her old worries about his relationship to her father resurfaced.

"Sure." Lyra replied hesitantly.

Thomas settled down next to Lyra and for a few minutes the pair sat in silence, neither knowing what to say. Eventually Thomas turned and stuck out his hand.

"I'm Thomas."

"Lyra." Lyra replied, shaking the hand offered to her.

"I know who you are." Thomas said.

"How?" Lyra asked. She hadn't paid Thomas much attention since Christmas break but she could have sworn that he still hadn't looked in her direction.

"I've been watching you." Thomas admitted, looking towards the lake.

"Why?" Lyra demanded.

"Because I think we're related." Thomas said quietly.

"We're not." Lyra said.

Thomas whipped his head round at Lyra's confident tone of voice. "How do you know we're not? You're not blind, surely you can see the family resemblance to your father."

"Coincidence." Lyra said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I had noticed the resemblance but my dad says it's just a coincidence."

"I suppose it was also a coincidence that your parents were at my house over the Easter holidays talking about how my father adopted me." Thomas retaliated, annoyed that Draco had dismissed him when asked about his existence.

"Mum and dad were at your house?" Lyra asked sounding upset. When Draco had dismissed Thomas's looks as a coincidence Lyra had believed her father but obviously he had lied.

"Yes." Thomas nodded. "I didn't mean to be so harsh, I'm sorry. I know this is hard to accept, I've been struggling for the last few months."

"What am I accepting, that our parents know each other?" Lyra asked harshly, fighting back the tears that were threating to fall.

"You know what I'm saying." Thomas sighed. "Don't pretend to be stupid, Lyra, I know you're not. I also know you understand exactly what's happening."

"It's not true." Lyra shouted, scrambling to her feet. "You're a liar."

Before Thomas could react Lyra had turned and was running towards the school. Thomas quickly got to his feet and took off after her, reaching her just before she reached the front doors.

"I'm not the liar." Thomas cried grabbing hold of Lyra's arm, stopping her from entering the building. "We both know I'm your brother."

"No you're not." Lyra sobbed, her tears falling freely. "Let go of me." She said, trying to pull her arm out of Thomas's grip.

"What's going on here?" The sudden appearance of a voice behind Lyra attracted the pair's attention. "Lyra are you okay?"

"No he won't let go of me." Lyra said, once again trying to pull away from Thomas.

"Let her go, now." Patrick Finnegan demanded as he reached his friends side.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." Thomas muttered letting go of Lyra who immediately rushed at Patrick and started sobbing into his chest.

"I think you should leave now." Patrick glared at Thomas as he hugged his oldest friend. Lyra rarely cried so he knew she was extremely upset by whatever had happened.

"Sorry." Thomas said once again before rushing into the school.

Once in the hallway Thomas stopped and turned back to the open front doors. Carefully he approached the doors and snuck his head out. Looking around he spotted Lyra and the boy who had interrupted them heading for the lake. Thomas stood in the shadows of the doorway for several minutes as he watched Lyra and the boy talking. Lyra was obviously still upset as the boy kept his arm wrapped around her and was clearly trying to console her.

Feeling bad he had upset Lyra, Thomas slowly made his way back to Gryffindor Tower. He still wanted to meet Draco only now he had a suspicion that if he ever found out how badly he had hurt his daughter the meeting could be a disaster. Thomas hoped an apology to Lyra would make sure she didn't mention their talk to Draco, that way he might have a chance to get the answers he desired easier.

An hour later when Lyra returned to Gryffindor Tower she was still accompanied by the boy from earlier and when Thomas tried to approach her the boy whisked her away, glaring in his direction. For the remainder of the term Thomas failed to get anywhere near to Lyra so he could apologise. Every time he spotted her she was with Patrick, Thomas had learnt his name after asking a first year, and Patrick wouldn't let Thomas get near to Lyra.

Thomas was disappointed that he still hadn't managed to apologise to Lyra before The Hogwarts Express arrived back in London. As Thomas was greeted by Jacques upon his arrival he spotted Lyra and her family out of the corner of his eye. As the Malfoy's apparated away, Thomas prayed that Lyra didn't mention their conversation to Draco. Thomas was already making plans to visit Draco as soon as possible, he just hoped he got there before Lyra mentioned the horrible way in which he had upset her.


	8. Chapter 8

Lyra sighed softly as she watched the chaos in her back garden. It was the Sunday after she had returned from Hogwarts and her parents had decided to host a barbeque to celebrate their anniversary. All of her parents friends were present with their family's so the large garden was overflowing with chattering adults and screaming children.

Lyra had discovered her parents arranging the afternoon when she had returned home from school two days ago. They had been so looking forward to having everyone over that Lyra hadn't the heart to mention what had happened with Thomas, instead she decided to wait until after the party before speaking to her parents.

"You haven't told them have you?" A voice behind Lyra said, she didn't have to turn around to know the voice belonged to Patrick.

"No." Lyra replied as Patrick settled down on the grass beside her.

During the last few days of school Patrick had acted as Lyra's bodyguard, he kept Thomas from speaking to her again much to her relief. He had also listened as Lyra admitted all her worries about Thomas and her father. Patrick was of the opinion that Lyra should speak to her parents, he was convinced there was a logical explanation that didn't involve Draco cheating on Hermione and fathering a child with another woman.

Lyra had appreciated Patrick's support and his effort's to reassure her of Thomas's paternity. Everything Patrick said made sense and Lyra would have happily believed him if it hadn't been for the fact that Draco and Hermione had visited Thomas's parents and mentioned him being adopted. The only positive thing about that was that Hermione seemed to know what was going on and it didn't seem to have affected her parents' marriage, they looked just as happy as ever.

"Are you going to tell them?" Patrick asked, looking across the garden to where Hermione and Draco were standing beside the barbeque bickering with each other.

"Yes." Lyra nodded. "If Thomas approached me he might try and get in touch with dad. I think they need to know what's going on."

"There'll be an explanation, you know." Patrick said. "There is no way your dad cheated on your mum."

"I hope not." Lyra sighed.

"I know so." Patrick stated in a voice that clearly held no room for argument. "Now stop worrying and enjoy the afternoon."

"I'll try." Lyra smiled slightly at her friend before getting up and pulling him with her. "Come on, let's go to the pond."

Lyra and Patrick headed towards the bottom of the garden where the pond was located. As they went they chatted happily and Lyra soon forgot to worry about Thomas. When they got to the bottom of the garden, they headed around the large tree that blocked the view of the pond from the rest of the garden.

"It looks like someone's beat us to it." Patrick said quietly.

Standing on the edge of the pond were Esmeralda and Tiana. The redheaded twins looked to be searching for something in the murky waters.

Lyra and Patrick quietly approached the two little girls. When they were standing beside them Lyra made their presence known. "What are you doing?" She asked, wondering what the girls were looking for.

"We're looking for water nymphs." Tiana said in her dreamy voice.

"Have you had any luck?" Patrick asked, sharing an amused look with Lyra.

"No." Esmeralda shook her head sadly. "They only come out when it's quiet."

Right on cue there was a loud yell nearby and Lyra and Patrick turned to find Scorpius and Fred pretend duelling over the other side of the pond. The two boys looked totally oblivious to the twins presence at the pond as they wielded their toy wands. The duelling was accompanied by plenty of shouting, running about and pretending to fall over.

"Have you told Scorp and Fred to be quiet?" Lyra questioned.

Both twins shook their heads, looking surprised at the idea. Lyra rolled her eyes realising it probably hadn't occurred to the little girls to be assertive, they were far too much like their mother and were content to say nothing rather than avoid confrontation. Lyra however wasn't afraid of confrontation and she saw no problem with trying to silence her little brother.

"You two." Lyra called, causing the two boys to turn and look at her in surprise. "Be quiet, the twins are searching for water nymphs."

"We were here first." Scorpius protested.

"I don't care. It's a huge garden, go and fight somewhere else." Lyra told her brother, shooting him a look that meant she was serious.

Scorpius and Fred grumbled a bit but they eventually turned to leave, muttering about having to leave their fighting arena because of make believe water nymphs.

"There you go girls, it's all quiet now." Lyra said as her and Patrick turned to head back to the main garden. "Good luck."

"Thank you, Lyra." Both girls chorused before they returned their attention back towards the pond.

Lyra and Patrick shot another amused glance at the twins before heading back to the barbeque.

* * *

...

* * *

Hermione watched as Lyra returned to the garden with Patrick, she certainly looked happier than when they had disappeared at the bottom of the garden. Hermione had been worried about Lyra recently, since she had returned from school she had been distant and was obviously worried about something. Several time Hermione had tried to speak with her daughter but she just brushed her off, reassuring her she was fine.

Hermione smiled warmly as Lyra and Patrick headed in her direction. "Hey, honey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Lyra smiled. "Is there any food ready yet?" She asked.

"With them idiots in charge, I doubt it." Hermione replied, pointing in the direction of the barbeque. "Apparently they know what they're doing and don't need help."

Lyra and Thomas turned in the direction of the barbeque, groaning at the sight. Draco, Harry, Blaise and Seamus were gather around the barbeque arguing over how to work it. As they were watching Ron, George and Theo approached to give their opinions, leading to more bickering.

"We'll come back later." Thomas laughed. "Maybe by then one of them will have had the brains to just use magic."

"You would hope so." Hermione muttered, amused that a twelve year old had more sense than a group of grown men.

Hermione watched as a laughing Lyra and Thomas set off back down the garden. Grabbing a drink Hermione then returned to the large garden table where the rest of the women were sitting.

"I take it they didn't want your help." Pansy Potter said as Hermione re-joined the group.

"Nope, according to Draco everything is running smoothly." Hermione replied.

"If that's smooth I'd hate to see things going wrong." Angelina Weasley winced as a big puff of black smoke suddenly erupted from the barbeque.

"Men, they're useless at everything. I can't trust Seamus to fix anything at home, he just ends up blowing it up." Daphne Finnegan huffed, causing the other women to laugh.

"Men aren't completely useless, sometimes they can do things right." Astoria Zabini said with a smile.

"And what's Blaise done right to get you grinning like a Cheshire cat?" Daphne asked her little sister.

"I'm pregnant." Astoria announced. "That's what Blaise has done right."

"Congratulations." Hermione smiled. She knew that the couple had been trying for a baby since before they were married and that Astoria was starting to worry that there was a serious problem in that department.

As the rest of the women congratulated Astoria the noise caught the attention of the men, who abandoned the barbeque and came to investigate the noise. The men all settled round the table as well as the happy news was shared again. After a few minutes Draco went back to set the barbeque away, he had finally relented and decided to use magic so they could actually eat.

"Shouldn't you be happier as a father to be." Draco said as a solemn looking Blaise approached him.

"I am happy, really." Blaise sighed, looking back to where a beaming Astoria was talking babies with their friends.

"Then why the long face?" Draco asked.

"It's just got me thinking, that's all." Blaise said, turning his attention back to Draco. "I'm so pleased I'm going to be a father but I can't help wonder if I'm one already. Do I already have a child out there somewhere?"

Draco looked back towards the rapidly heating barbeque, unsure of what to say to his friend. Since speaking with Ginny he and Hermione had decided to forget all about her and pretend they didn't know she was back. However when one of his best friends was so obviously in need of the information they knew it was harder to justify keeping quiet.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be letting it get to me." Blaise said, shaking his head to try and dislodge thoughts of his ex. "Anyway enough about the past. How are you and Hermione getting on with adding to the family?"

"Fine, although it's only been six months and it took us over a year to get pregnant with Scorpius." Draco spoke quietly as he wasn't sure if Hermione had mentioned to anyone that they were trying for another baby.

Blaise opened his mouth to respond but a high pitched squealing disturbed everyone. All the adults scanned the garden for the source of the noise, not finding anything amiss with the children they could find. Four children however were nowhere to be seen, there was no sign of Ron and Luna's twins and Scorpius and little Fred were also missing.

Hermione, Luna and Angelina had all just gotten up to find their wayward children when there was a commotion at the bottom of the garden. All the adults hurried down the garden, arriving just in time to see two little redhead's emerging from behind the tree that hid the pond from view. Both Esmeralda and Tiana were dripping wet, their dresses were clinging to them and their long red hair was matted against their faces. Tiana even had a small frog sitting on top of her head.

"What happened?" Luna asked, casually removing the frog from her daughter's hair.

"We fell." Esmeralda replied.

"How?" Hermione asked.

"We were looking for water nymphs and we thought we saw one so we moved closer to the edge." Tiana answered, not noticing the amused looks the adults shared at the mention of water nymphs.

"Then Scorpius and Fred jumped out from behind the tree and yelled boo at us." Esmeralda picked up her sister's story.

"Then we fell into the pond and scared the nymphs away." Tiana finished.

"Never mind, I'm sure you'll see them next time." Luna reassured her daughters.

"Luna, why don't you take the girls inside to dry them up." Hermione suggested. "Lyra can go with you and get them some of her old clothes."

"Thank you Hermione." Luna smiled at her friend before setting off towards the house with her daughters and Lyra.

Ron quickly followed his wife and children as the other adults and the rest of the children started to head back to the top of the garden. After a minute the only people still at the bottom of the garden were Hermione, Draco, Angelina and George.

"Scorpius Malfoy, come here now." Hermione demanded, she had spotted the blond head of her son hiding behind the tree while the twins were telling their story.

"You too, Fredrick." Angelina called when Scorpius skulked out from behind the tree alone.

Fred reluctantly followed his friend into the open and the two boys stood sheepishly in front of their mothers. Draco and George had stepped back slightly as they tried not to laugh at their sons contrite expressions.

"What happened?" Hermione demanded.

"It was an accident." Scorpius said quietly. "We only wanted to give them a shock."

"Yeah, how were we supposed to know they were standing right on the edge of the pond." Fred piped up, sounding distinctly less sorry than Scorpius.

"That's not the point, it's not nice to jump out at people." Angelina scolded.

The two boys exchanged looks and sighed deeply before turning back to their mothers. "Sorry, it won't happen again." They chorused in unison.

"Make sure it doesn't. Now go and get some food." Hermione sighed, shooing the two boys away. She knew that they would only be in more trouble next time they were together, it was inevitable.

Hermione, Draco, George and Angelina followed their sons back up to the barbeque where Blaise had taken charge and was dishing the food out.

* * *

...

* * *

Astoria was making her way from the bathroom in the Malfoy house towards the kitchen when the sound of raised voices disturbed her. Astoria stopped in surprise when she recognised the voices as belonging to Hermione and Draco, it was unusual to hear the couple arguing when there were people around. Astoria assumed they argued like any other couple but she'd never heard them exchange words when other people might hear.

Curious as to what had the normally loving couple disagreeing in the middle of their party Astoria moved closer to the partially open door where the voices were coming from.

"He needs to know." Astoria heard Draco say, his voice returning more to his normal pitch.

"And what about Astoria?" Hermione asked, causing the witch in question to gape as she heard her name mentioned.

"This is about Blaise, he needs to know the baby Astoria is having is his first born." Draco insisted.

Astoria's eyes widened as she realised Hermione and Draco were talking about Ginny and her child. Though how they knew her child wasn't Blaise's was a mystery.

"How do we explain that we know that Thomas isn't Blaise's?" Hermione demanded. "We can't reveal Ginny's child isn't Blaise's without revealing she's back."

"It's only Blaise, he won't tell."

"I'm sure he won't but what if it causes problems with him and Astoria."

"How will it cause problems?" Draco asked. "Blaise is madly in love Astoria, nothing will change that."

Astoria smiled as she heard Draco mention how much Blaise loved her. She was worried however by what Hermione was going to say. Astoria wasn't stupid and she knew how much Ginny had once meant to Blaise, she just wasn't sure if he had loved her more back then than he loves her now.

"I know it won't, but bringing Ginny back into the picture is hardly going to help matters. You know how long it took Blaise to get over Ginny and accept she was gone. He wasted months of his time and thousands of galleons trying to track her down after his probation ended."

Astoria gasped quietly at Hermione's revelation, she had no idea that Blaise had tried to find Ginny after he was released from Azkaban. Astoria had always assumed that after spending eighteen months in Azkaban Blaise had finally realised that his redheaded ex wasn't worth it and had moved on with his life.

"I know he would argue that he was doing it to find out about the baby, but we both know that's not the whole truth." Hermione continued.

"I know." Draco sighed, finally agreeing with his wife. "If he'd found her he would have taken her back whatever the outcome with the baby. I know all that, but it was a long time ago. He wouldn't still want her back, he's happily married with a baby of his own on the way."

"I don't for one minute think he'll want her back." Hermione replied. "I just think it'll cause a lot of pain at a time he should be looking to the future."

"Maybe." Draco said after a long silence.

"Just think about it for a few days, Draco." Hermione said. "If you still feel Blaise should know of Ginny's return then we can tell him."

As Astoria heard the couple approaching the door she turned and fled back towards the bathroom, it was nearer than the kitchen so there was less chance of her being caught eavesdropping. Locking the door behind her Astoria sat down and contemplated what she had just heard, she was still reeling by the fact that not only was Ginny back but that Draco and Hermione knew and seemingly weren't planning on doing anything about it.

While Astoria agreed with points made by both Hermione and Draco there was only one thing that kept floating into her head, Ginny had killed a man and had gotten away scot free while Blaise had spent months in prison for trying to help the woman he loved. Astoria witnessed first-hand how Blaise still lived with the stigma of being a former inmate of Azkaban prison, despite his successful business there were still people who refused to deal with him and it wouldn't be the first time he had been heckled in the street by strangers.

Eventually Astoria left the bathroom and re-joined the party. She still wasn't a hundred per cent sure of what to do about what she had discovered but the longer she dwelled on the thought of Ginny living her life free of consequences the angrier she became.

By the time Astoria went home with Blaise she had made a decision, there was no way she was allowing Ginny Weasley to go unpunished a moment longer. The next day she would go to the Ministry and inform them of Ginny's return, hopefully then justice would finally be done.

* * *

**A/N - I have just finished writing this story so updates will be coming more quickly, possibly once a day. **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N - Sorry for the confusion at the beginning of the previous chapter, it seems that having a cold has turned my brains to mush. Thank you for the people who pointed out the mistakes, making sure they were corrected as soon as possible.**

* * *

Draco was sitting in his study sorting paperwork for an important meeting the following day when there was a timid knock on the door. Draco looked up in surprise at the sound, he thought the rest of his family were upstairs. He knew Hermione was making sure Scorpius got to bed without further incident and Lyra had disappeared off to her room even before all of the guests had left.

"Come in." Draco called, watching the door as it slowly creaked open.

Once the door was partially open Lyra slowly walked into the room, shutting the door behind her. After standing looking uncertain for a minute she slowly approached her father's desk.

"Can we talk?" Lyra asked seriously.

Draco couldn't help but smile at his daughter, she acted so like Hermione at times. "Of course we can, Sweetheart. Let's go and sit by the fire."

Lyra went over to the small sofa beside the fire and sat down while Draco put his work away before joining his daughter. The minute Draco sat down Lyra snuggled into him and buried her head in his chest.

"What's wrong, Princess?" Draco asked, running his hand through Lyra's soft hair.

"Can you remember that boy Thomas I mentioned over Christmas?" Lyra asked. As she was still curled up so close to Draco she felt her father tense up at the mention of Thomas.

"Yes." Draco replied tersely. He had been hoping to try and forget about Thomas as he wasn't likely to ever meet him but it would appear that it wasn't going to be so easy.

"Last week he approached me and told me something." Lyra said quietly, wondering if she was doing the right thing in talking to Draco about Thomas.

Draco reached down and placed his hand under Lyra's head, gently tilting it so he could see his daughter. He knew by the fact she was clinging onto him so tightly that she was upset and that was only confirmed when he spotted tears glistening in her eyes.

"What did he tell you?" Draco asked.

"He told me he was my brother." Lyra whispered, a tear leaking from her eye and running down her cheek.

"Lyra, he's not your brother." Draco said, using his thumb to wipe away his daughter's tears.

"That's what I said, but then he told me you and mum visited his parents over Easter. He heard you mention the fact he was adopted." Lyra explained, more tears falling as she talked.

Draco's eyes widened in surprise when Lyra revealed Thomas knew of his visit to Ginny and her husband. Clearly though he had only heard part of the conversation and had jumped to a few conclusions. Draco now knew he was going to tell his daughter the truth about Thomas, there was no way he was letting his little girl get herself so worked up about things that weren't true.

"I admit your mother and I did visit Thomas's parents over Easter." Draco said. "There was also mention of the fact Thomas's father adopted him. But everything else Thomas told you is wrong."

"But you said you didn't know him when I mentioned him at Christmas." Lyra said. "Why did you lie?" She asked, a hurt look on her face.

"I didn't lie, exactly." Draco said with a grimace. "I had a suspicion of who Thomas was but I wasn't sure at the time."

"Who is he?" Lyra asked. "If he's not my brother, then why does he look so much like you and Scorp?"

"What do you know about your grandfather Lucius?" Draco asked. He'd told both Lyra and Scorpius bits about his father but he was interested to see if Lyra had looked into her family history to get more information on the man she had never met.

"I know what you and gran have told me. I also know how he died and who killed him." Lyra admitted. She'd looked into the family history just before starting school as her parents and grandmother had only ever mentioned her grandfather briefly.

"I figured you would have done some research and found out about it." Draco said. "Why didn't you ask any questions?"

"I figured if you didn't mention it, it was because it wasn't something you wanted to talk about." Lyra shrugged. "Besides I figured both you and gran had to be pretty upset at what had happened, I didn't want to upset you any further."

"That's really nice, Lyra." Draco smiled at his daughter's thoughtfulness, that definitely came from Hermione rather than him. "We'll have to talk about it properly some time. Father was your family too so you deserve to know what happened."

"I'd like that." Lyra said. She was pleased that Draco was willing to discuss their family history but it was time to get back to the matter in hand. "But what does grandfather Lucius have to do with Thomas?"

"Everything." Draco sighed. "I'm sure you read that your grandfather was having an affair before he died and his mistress was the one that killed him."

"Yes, Ron and George's sister." Lyra said. She'd been quite shocked when she'd read her grandfather had been having an affair with a Weasley as they were such a nice, honest family.

"What wasn't made public knowledge was the fact Ginny was pregnant when she ran." Draco said.

"Thomas." Lyra gasped.

Draco nodded. "Apart from your mother and I the only people who knew were Blaise and the Auror's in charge of the case. Your grandmother also knows now, but that's it, none of the Weasley's know."

"I won't tell anyone." Lyra said, understanding exactly what her father was insinuating. "But why hasn't Thomas's mother being arrested? She killed grandfather and then ran away, so she wouldn't have to go to jail."

"She hasn't been arrested because the Auror's don't know she's back." Draco admitted. "She's got a whole new identity and is barely recognisable as the same woman who ran away."

"Why haven't you told the Auror's?" Lyra asked puzzled. She knew that if someone was to kill her father she wouldn't rest until the killer was punished severely.

Draco sighed and ran his hand through his hair, hoping Lyra would understand his decision. "I haven't told because I don't want to ruin Thomas's life. Punishing Ginny won't bring my father back but it will destroy the life of my half-brother."

"Family comes first." Lyra whispered, understanding Draco's need to protect Thomas.

"Exactly." Draco nodded. He reached out and pulled Lyra into a hug. "Thomas knows nothing about father and it's better it stays that way."

Lyra suddenly pulled back and looked up at Draco in concern. "But Thomas thinks you're his father. He approached me and told me I was his sister, what's to stop him approaching Scorpius when he starts school in a few years? Or what if he goes around telling other people he's your son?"

Draco frowned, it was suddenly occurring to him that Thomas would have to know the truth. He couldn't be allowed to go around thinking Draco was his father, it wasn't fair to Thomas and it wasn't fair to Hermione, Lyra and Scorpius.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll sort it." Draco said. "I'll make sure Thomas knows I'm not his father."

Lyra smiled before settling back down in her father's arms. For nearly an hour Lyra lay curled up next to Draco as he told her stories about Lucius and his childhood. When Lyra started to yawn Draco insisted it was time for bed, although he promised her more stories the following day.

After making sure Lyra went to bed, Draco headed for his own bedroom. For the next hour or so he filled Hermione in on what had happened and the couple decided they had to pay another visit to Ginny. They decided to leave it up to Ginny what she told Thomas but they were planning on making it clear that Thomas had to know that Draco wasn't his father.

* * *

...

* * *

Ginny was sitting flicking through a new fashion magazine when a knock on the front door startled her. Ginny froze, she was contemplating not answering when a second knock sounded. Telling herself she was just being stupid and that she was perfectly safe Ginny put her magazine down and slowly made her way to the front door.

By the time Ginny arrived at the door several more knocks had taken place and she was getting increasingly worried about who could be so anxious to see her. Partly terrified that she was going to open the door to the Auror's, Ginny carefully cracked open the door enough to see who was standing on the doorstep.

Ginny sighed in relief as she spotted Draco and Hermione on the doorstep. Throwing open the door Ginny's welcoming smile disappeared when she saw the sombre expressions of her former friends faces.

"Hermione, Draco, is everything all right?" She asked.

"Not really, can we come in?" Hermione asked.

"Of course." Stepping back Ginny gestured for the couple to enter the house.

Ginny then led Draco and Hermione into the front room where she perched on the end of a sofa. Hermione also sat down, practically dragging her husband into the seat beside her.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked, wondering if the couple had come to tell her they were turning her in.

"Is Thomas here?" Draco asked abruptly.

"No, he's with Jacques in Manchester." Ginny replied. "They'll be back at the end of the week."

"He knows that Hermione and I visited here over the Easter break." Draco told Ginny.

"That's impossible, he would have said something." Ginny brushed off Draco's accusations.

"He did say something, that's the problem." Draco muttered causing Ginny to look at him in puzzlement.

"What Draco is trying to say is that Thomas overheard part of the conversation we had last time we were here. He then saw Draco and combined the two things to come up with the idea that Draco is his father." Hermione explained what was going on to Ginny as her husband was making a mess of it. "Just before the school holidays he approached our daughter and told her that he was her brother."

"Thomas wouldn't do something like that." Ginny protested.

"He did." Draco insisted. "I know he didn't do it to be malicious or hurtful but it really upset Lyra."

"I'm sorry, I'll talk to him about approaching strangers and upsetting them." Ginny said.

"And what are you going to do about the fact he thinks Draco is his father?" Hermione asked.

"Why do we have to do anything?" Ginny asked. "I can tell him to stay away from your daughter and the problem will be solved."

"How does that solve the problem?" Draco snorted. "Thomas will still think I'm his father."

"Surely that's better than him knowing the truth." Ginny said quietly. "I can explain that you've got your own family and don't want to be disturbed. I promise Thomas won't bother you again."

"That's not acceptable." Hermione stated, standing up and glaring at Ginny. "I won't let you make my husband out to be the bad guy because you don't want to face up to the truth."

"Please Hermione, I can't tell him the truth." Ginny pleaded with her former friend.

"You can tell him what you like, Ginny." Hermione said. "But you make sure he knows Draco is not his father. I won't stand by and watch as people accuse Draco of cheating on me and fathering someone else's child."

"How can I tell him he's not Draco's without revealing the truth?" Ginny asked. She was on the verge of tears as she faced up to the possibility she would have to tell Thomas the one thing she never wanted him to know.

"I don't know." Hermione shook her head. "I don't want to be harsh, Ginny, but he needs to be set straight. I will not let my children suffer just so you can escape talking to your son. If Thomas approaches Lyra or anyone else and says Draco is his father, I'll be the one to put him straight."

"I understand." Ginny gulped, it was clear from Hermione's tone that if she was the one talking to Thomas that her son would definitely find out his father's true identity. "I'll put him straight when he comes home."

"Good." Hermione said as Draco stood up and the couple prepared to leave.

Hermione and Draco had reached the doorway before Draco turned back to address Ginny, who was still sitting on the sofa in shock.

"If you do tell Thomas the truth, you can tell him that I would love to meet him." Draco said, unsure if Ginny was even listening to him.

As Ginny continued to stare into the distance Draco and Hermione once again turned to leave the room. This time they left without looking back and it was the sound of the front door closing behind them that jolted Ginny back to reality.

Ginny looked around at the noise, suddenly aware that Draco and Hermione had left. As she slumped back onto the sofa Ginny wondered if there was any way she could convince Thomas that Draco wasn't his father without revealing the truth. Off the top of her head she couldn't think of anything but she still had a few days to think of something.

As Ginny continued to think of a way out of the mess she had found herself in she couldn't help but think that everything that was happening was her own fault. Two years ago they had a perfect life in South Africa but her own selfishness had driven them back to England and straight into a load of trouble. If they had remained in Cape Town Ginny wouldn't constantly be worrying that someone had discovered her true identity and Thomas would never have seen Draco and started asking awkward questions.


	10. Chapter 10

By Friday morning Thomas was eager to return home. He had actually really enjoyed spending the week with his father but he still felt the need to go and visit Draco. While Jacques was his father and he would always love him, Thomas needed to know the truth about his real heritage.

When Thomas and Jacques arrived home Thomas was surprised to find his mother anxiously waiting by the fireplace as they stepped out of the flames and into the front room. Thomas also noticed the worried look his parents shared as his mother greeted them.

"Thomas, we need to talk." Ginny said, leading her son over to the sofa.

Ginny sat down on the sofa and pulled Thomas down next to her. Jacques then moved so he was sitting on the arm behind Ginny, his hands resting on her shoulders in support. Thomas knew immediately his parents wanted to discuss something serious and he wondered whether they were finally going to tell him the truth about his father.

"We need to talk about what you heard over the Easter holidays." Ginny said.

"How do you know, I heard?" Thomas questioned, surprised his parents already knew he was informed of the situation.

"That doesn't matter at the minute." Ginny shook her head, brushing the question off. "But I would like to know what you did you hear."

Because of Thomas's assumptions regarding his father's identity Ginny was convinced he hadn't heard enough to realise she was a murderer, but she still wanted to know how much he did actually know.

"I heard Dad shouting as I was passing the room and stopped in surprise. Before I had a chance to move I heard someone mention something about someone not knowing the truth about their father. Dad then said he had adopted me." Thomas explained.

"Oh, Thomas, I'm so sorry you had to find out like that." Ginny reached for her son's hand as she spoke. "But why didn't you come to us and ask us about what you'd heard?"

"I was going to but after that day you were so happy, much happier then you've been for years, and I didn't want to make you sad." Thomas shrugged.

"Why didn't you come to me then?" Jacques asked. "Surely you heard enough to know that even though you may not be my son biologically, I love you like my own."

"I know and that's why I didn't talk to you." Thomas looked up at his father for the first time as he tried to explain why he hadn't confided in him. "You're my Dad, nothing will ever change that, but I didn't want you thinking I didn't love you if I was asking questions about my real father."

"I would never think that Thomas." Jacques reassured his son. "After what you heard it's only natural that you'd be curious as to who your biological father is."

"I know I really should have come to you two and I'm sorry, but I managed to find out what I needed on my own." Thomas said. "Maybe you can help me with a bit more detail."

"That's something else we need to discuss." Ginny sighed, dreading what was to come. She still had no idea how to convince Thomas that Draco wasn't his father without revealing the truth. "Draco Malfoy isn't your father."

Thomas stared at his mother for several minutes before he regained his focus. "Don't be stupid, of course he is. You're forgetting I've seen him and the similarities in our appearance show we're related."

"Thomas, he's not your father." Ginny insisted. "There was a time I counted Draco as a friend but we've never been more than that. You're not Draco's son."

"Then why was he here asking about me?" Thomas demanded. "Why did he say he wanted to meet me? And more importantly how the hell do we look so similar if he's not my father?"

Thomas glared at his mother, waiting for answers. Ginny however was totally overwhelmed and couldn't think of any suitable lies to tell her son. As Ginny was floundering so much Jacques decided he would do his best to appease Thomas, he really didn't want his son finding out the truth about Lucius unless he really had to.

"Mr Malfoy and his wife were here as they realised your mother was back." Jacques said. "As she said they were friends once upon a time and they wanted to catch up, that's why they wanted to see you."

"If they're just old friends then why did you refuse?" Thomas asked. "I heard you and you were determined they wouldn't be allowed meet me."

"Your mother had a falling out with her friends and seeing them again dragged up some bad memories." Jacques said, pleased he was at least telling a partial truth. Seeing her old friends again had been hard on Ginny and had brought up ghosts that had long since been forgotten. "I didn't want her upset, so I suggested we all kept our distance."

"You know when I was finding out about Draco I looked at old pictures of his friends and mum wasn't amongst them." Thomas turned his attention back to his mother, waiting to see if she had any response for him, he didn't believe a word Jacques was saying and he wanted to know if his mother would crack and tell him the truth.

"I looked different back then, I was a lot younger." Ginny whispered. She was shocked that Thomas had been doing research on Draco, she only hoped he hadn't looked into his past too deeply and found out about Lucius.

"So were Draco and his wife and I recognised both of them immediately. So either you've changed beyond recognition or you're lying." Thomas snapped.

At Thomas's tone of voice Ginny snapped her head up to look at her son. For the first time she saw part of Lucius's personality in him, normally it was just his looks that reminded her of her former lover but his tone of voice and harsh look were pure Malfoy.

"And even if you are telling the truth, which I doubt very much, there's still the fact I look so much like Draco." Thomas continued in his cold voice so reminiscent of his dead father. "You can protest all you want but I've seen enough to know I'm related to him. It doesn't matter what lies you spout, I know he's my father."

"But he's not." Ginny shook her head in despair. "I swear, Draco isn't your father."

"I don't believe you." Thomas snorted as he stood up. "If you won't tell me the truth then I'll just have to go and see him myself, maybe he'll be more honest with me."

"You can't do that." Ginny cried, jumping up and grabbing Thomas's arm. There was no way she could allow him to see Draco after the threat Hermione had made.

"Maybe we should tell the truth." Jacques said quietly, moving behind Ginny and wrapping her in his arms. "I think it's the only way." He whispered to his wife who was vehemently shaking her head.

"Please Mum, tell me the truth." Thomas pleaded, looking at his distraught mother.

Ginny slowly raised her head so she was looking at Thomas, he looked so desperate and she could see the plea in his grey eyes. "Fine, I'll tell you the truth." She whispered.

Thomas sat back down on the sofa and waited for his parents to join him. Before settling down Jacques whispered something to Ginny before the couple sat down on the sofa, Ginny huddled against her husband. For the first time Thomas wondered if he hadn't been the product of a loving relationship, he'd always assumed that his mother and Draco had been having an affair but now he was thinking there was something more sinister going on.

"The truth is when I was younger I had an affair with a married man. It went on for about two years and we loved each other, but his wife found out and we ended it." Ginny explained. "You're the result of the affair."

"That doesn't explain why I look so much like Draco." Thomas said, sounding confused. He actually believed what his mother was saying but he still felt as though she wasn't being entirely truthful. "And what about my real father, who is he? Does he know about me? Can I meet him?"

"Your father knew about you, or rather he knew I was pregnant." Ginny said quietly, memories of her last meeting with Lucius running through her mind. "He died before you were born."

"Mum, I'm sorry." Thomas immediately felt guilty for pushing his mother when she was clearly still upset over her ex's death. "But I still need to know who he was and why I look so much like Draco. It can't just be a coincidence we look so alike."

Ginny turned to look at Jacques, who nodded reassuringly at her. "The reason you look so like Draco is the fact you are related to him. He's not your father, he's your brother. Your father was Lucius Malfoy."

Ginny wasn't sure what sort of reaction she would get from Thomas but she didn't expect the disgust that washed over his face. At first she thought he was surprised by the age difference between herself and Lucius but when she reached out to him and he pulled away she realised the disgust was aimed at her.

"I know it's a shock, Thomas." Ginny said, trying to explain things to her son the best she could. "I know there was an age gap and he was married with a son older than me, but we loved each other."

"Yeah, you loved him so much you whacked him over the head and killed him." Thomas sneered. It had taken him all of two seconds to work out who his mother was once she had revealed the identity of his father, he had done enough research into Draco's past to know exactly what had happened with Lucius. "You are Ginny Weasley, the bitch that killed him aren't you?"

Ginny had paled at her son's allegations and she just stared at him, unable to find the words to defend herself. Obviously his research into Draco had resulted in him finding out about Lucius's death and from there it was easy to work out her true identity once she had revealed the truth about his true father.

"Thomas, don't talk to your mother like that." Jacques scolded his son.

"Why not?" Thomas questioned as he stood up and backed away from his parents. "It's true isn't it? She killed my father then she ran off like a coward."

"I'm sorry, it was an accident." By this point Ginny was in floods of tears as her only son rejected her. "I never meant to hurt him, please Thomas, you have to believe me."

Ginny shakily stood up and walked over to her son, who immediately shrugged her off and backed away from her. Thomas quickly retreated to the doorway while Ginny collapsed onto the floor, loud sobs wracking her small body.

"You disgust me, I want nothing more to do with you." Thomas said from the doorway. Taking one last look at his mother he turned and fled to his room, tears falling down his own face as he struggled to process the discoveries he had made.

* * *

...

* * *

Thomas stayed locked in his bedroom all morning, both his parents had tried to speak to him but he ignored them until they went away. When he refused to speak to his mother Thomas heard her run to her own bedroom and shut herself away. Jacques spent most of the morning alternating between trying to get Thomas to talk and trying to calm his wife down, eventually he decided to give Thomas some time to come round while Ginny had slipped into a fretful sleep.

By early afternoon Thomas had made a decision, he needed to know more about his father. He was still too disgusted with his mother to even think about talking to her so the only person who could really help was Draco. Thomas dug out the address to Draco's office amongst his school work and debated how he was going to go and see his half-brother. When Thomas had initially found the address he had obviously thought he was going to see his father but in the space of one morning everything had changed and he no longer had a father to go and see.

Deciding to stick with his original plan of using the floo network to visit Draco, Thomas got ready before he crept out of his bedroom. Quietly Thomas made his way downstairs and was relieved when he stepped into the front room to find it empty, hopefully both his parents would stay out of the room while he left the house. Still being as quiet as he could Thomas grabbed some floo powder and stepped into the fire, he was hoping in all the commotion that Jacques had forgotten to lock the floo network. Luckily for Thomas the floo network was open as he disappeared in a flash of green flames as he called out the desired address.

After a minute or so Thomas emerged from the fire into large stone entrance hall. The hall was bustling with people coming and going and Thomas took a good look around. The front door stood opposite the large reception desk and on either side of reception stood two glass elevators. Next to the elevators was a large sign on the wall, listing what floors to find different things on.

Thomas rushed to the sign and immediately found Draco's office was on the top floor. Unfortunately when he tried to call for an elevator nothing happened, stepping back he waited until someone approached and they called the elevator. When he found a force field blocking him from entering Thomas started observing the other people moving around, he discovered they all wore a wristband that seemed to allow them to move freely within the building. More observation showed that some people arrived wearing the wristband's while others received them from reception.

Thomas hadn't wanted to approach reception but he realised he had little choice if he actually wanted to see Draco. Reluctantly he stepped up to reception and asked to see Draco. The witch initially refused to let him upstairs without an appointment but when he begged her she took pity on the fact he was only a child and told him she would see what she would do. After contacting Draco's office the witch on reception handed Thomas a wristband and told him someone would be waiting for him upstairs.

Thomas took one of the glass elevators up to the top floor. When it arrived and he stepped out Thomas was shocked to find Draco standing waiting for him. Draco had personally given the witch on reception permission to let Thomas up to see him as he was curious as to what his half-brother wanted, he was hoping that Ginny had at least made sure the boy knew he wasn't his father.

"Hello Thomas." Draco greeted his half-brother with a friendly smile. "It's nice to meet you."

"You, too." Thomas replied, relieved that the older man at least seemed friendly enough. "Can we talk, please?"

"Of course, come through to my office."

Draco led the way to his office, only stopping briefly to tell his secretary they weren't to be disturbed. Once in the office Draco led Thomas over to the corner were a sofa and two chairs were arranged around a coffee table. After offering Thomas refreshments, which he politely declined, the two half siblings sat down together for the first time.

"I'm sorry to just burst in on you but I found out who I really am today." Thomas explained. "I really need some answers."

"What did your mother tell you?" Draco asked. He wanted to be clear what Ginny had told Thomas so he didn't accidentally put his foot in it and reveal something he didn't know.

"Not a lot. For months I've thought you were my father but today mum told me my father was also your father." Thomas said. "Because of the research I'd done on you when I thought you were my father I immediately worked out who mum really is and what she did."

"I'm sorry, Thomas." Draco winced, thinking about how painful it must have been for him realising his mother was a killer. "That must have been an awful way to find out the truth."

"Yeah, it wasn't really the best way to find out the news." Thomas snorted.

"So your mum told you about her affair with Lucius but not about what happened after?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, I don't think she realised I knew what had happened and could work out who she really was." Thomas replied. "Why do you call your father by his first name?" The question had just sprung from what Draco had said but Thomas figured it was the perfect way to begin the conversation.

"Habit." Draco shrugged. "When he was alive we didn't always get on too well, calling him by his given name rather than father often meant I was angry with him or that he'd hurt me in some way. Even now I still refer to him by his name when I'm reminded of how much he hurt my mother and I."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be a reminder of the pain he caused." Thomas said quietly.

"You're not." Draco reassured the boy. "I'm actually really pleased to meet you, I wish it could have been easier for you but considering the circumstances I honestly don't think it was ever going to be easy for us to meet."

"I suppose not." Thomas said, thinking that Draco had a point. Whenever they had met it would mean he had discovered the truth about his parentage while Draco would be faced with the product of his father's betrayal.

"Do you want me to tell you about him?" Draco asked. "I'm not going to lie and tell you he was a good, kind man, because he wasn't. But he also wasn't as bad as people like to think, I don't think he's even as bad as I sometimes think he was."

Thomas accepted Draco's offer and for the next hour Draco proceeded to tell Thomas about their father. Draco tried his best to be as truthful as possible, he made sure Thomas knew both the bad and good things about Lucius. By the time he had finished speaking Draco himself was feeling slightly overwhelmed and he realised he missed his father a lot, they may have argued and were angry at each other when Lucius had died but they were still family and despite everything Draco had loved his father.

"What about him and my mum?" Thomas asked. "She said they loved each other. Did they?"

"Honestly, I don't know. We didn't find out about the affair until after everything had happened." Draco said. "From everything I've heard and from talking to your mother recently I think she definitely loved Lucius."

"Did he love her?"

Draco sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "They were together for two years, so there was some real feelings present. I can't say for sure if father loved her but I have a suspicion he did."

"You don't like that." Thomas noted, watching Draco's reaction carefully.

"No, I don't." Draco said truthfully. "It's nothing against you or your mother but I always thought my parents were happy and loved each other. It was quite a shock to discover father had been cheating for so long. What he did broke my mother's heart and I can't accept what he did just because he was supposedly in love with your mother."

"What about what my mother did?" Thomas asked. "She killed our father. Why haven't you gotten her arrested?"

"Do you want her to be arrested?" Draco asked, wondering what Thomas thought of Ginny's actions.

"I don't know." Thomas whispered, his head drooping as he thought about his mother. "What she did was terrible and I don't know if I can ever forgive her for that."

Draco looked at Thomas, knowing he had made the right decision not to turn Ginny into the authorities. While Thomas may be upset with what Ginny had done it was clear he loved her very much and would be devastated if she was sent to Azkaban.

"You're the reason I haven't told anyone about your mother." Draco said, moving to sit beside his half-brother. "Despite the fact I'm still upset at what she did, I'm more concerned about you. You don't deserve to be stuck in the middle of this and you don't deserve to lose your mother."

"What if she deserves to be punished, though?" Thomas asked, looking up at Draco. "She killed a man and just walked away. Surely that deserves punishment?"

"It does." Draco nodded. "But do you deserve punishing for who your parents are? Sending your mother to prison won't bring father back but it will lose you someone you love for a long time."

"Am I really worth letting her escaping justice?" Thomas asked, amazed that Draco was more concerned with his happiness than seeing justice being served.

"I think so." Draco replied. "But if you think different we can do something about it. I just want you to think before you do anything, Thomas. If you tell anyone what your mother did you'll have to live with that for the rest of your life."

"I know." Thomas sighed. "I don't want to see her hurt but at the same time she killed someone and that deserves some sort of punishment."

"If it means anything I'm sure the guilt she feels must be crippling. She not only killed the father of her child but she killed the man she loved, that has to hurt and be extremely painful to live with." Draco said. He wasn't sure why he was defending Ginny but he did know he wanted Thomas to be aware of what would happen if he decided his mother needed to be punished.

"Maybe she does feel guilty." Thomas said. "But what if she doesn't? What if she's just relieved to have gotten away scot free?"

"Then I suppose you should talk to her." Draco suggested. "Maybe then you can get the full picture before making any firm decisions."

"Would you come with me?" Thomas asked. "I don't want to face her alone. I don't even know if I want anything more to do with her."

"Of course, I'll come with you." Draco said. "You're family, Thomas, and I want you to know that I'll always be here for you."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Thomas smiled. "Does this mean we can get to know each other and be proper brothers?"

"If that's what you want, then definitely." Draco said, trying to control the huge grin that threated to spill out at Thomas's question.

"I think I'll like having a big brother." Thomas said.

"I think I'll like having a little brother." Draco said as he got up. "Give me ten minutes to finish off here and speak to Hermione, then I'll take you home and we can speak to your mother."

"Thanks, Draco." Thomas said with a smile.

Draco smiled back before he tided his desk and went to speak to his secretary. When he returned to the office he quickly made a floo call home before grabbing his jacket. Turning back to Thomas he then apparated them to Thomas's house where they were planning on speaking with Ginny.


	11. Chapter 11

The Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shackelbolt, paced his office as thought about what he was about to do. He was about to arrest a woman he had known since she was a teenager, a woman who was the daughter of two of his dearest friends.

First thing on Monday morning Kingsley had received a visitor who claimed to have information regarding the whereabouts of Ginny Weasley. The informant explained they hadn't wanted to go directly to the Auror's as they didn't want to put Harry and Ron in an awkward position. The informant then explained that Ginny was back in the country and had a son named Thomas, they wouldn't say how they knew this but they swore it was true.

With the information sitting in his lap Kingsley had little choice but to investigate. First he pulled two Auror's into his office and swore them to secrecy before telling them what was going to happen. Kingsley gave the two Auror's all the information regarding Ginny's original case and the new information they had, ordering them to find out all they could.

It had only taken a couple of days to locate Ginny's son and begin an investigation into her life. Kingsley had wanted to be sure he had the right person before he arrested Ginny but in the end there was no way to be certain until an arrest took place and the woman's magic was tested. Despite the last remaining shards of doubt over Ginny's identity Kingsley was confident enough with his Auror's work to determine that Sara DuPlessis was really Ginny Weasley.

When the two Auror's made an appearance in his office Kingsley grabbed his cloak and the trio made their way out of the building. Kingsley knew that even if anyone saw him with the two Auror's they wouldn't think it was odd, he often used Auror's as protective agents as he went about his duties as Minister for Magic.

By the time Kingsley and the two Auror's arrived at Ginny's large home, he just wished the entire ordeal could be over. Walking up to the front door Kingsley knocked on the door and stood back to wait for an answer. The door opened to reveal the man Kingsley knew was Jacques DuPlessis.

"Mr DuPlessis, I'm Kingsley Shackelbolt, the Minister for Magic. We'd like to speak to your wife, please."

"I'm afraid Sara's busy." Jacques replied, looking very pale and nervous.

"It's important. I'm afraid I'll have to insist." Kingsley said.

Jacques looked as though he was going to argue for a minute but he moved back and gestured for Kingsley and the Auror's to enter the house. The second Kingsley entered the house he heard the sound of a woman shouting, closely followed by the angry voice of a boy. When a third voice, that Kingsley knew belonged to Draco Malfoy, entered the fray he knew he had been right, they had found Ginny.

Jacques turned round and took a deep breath before he walked the few steps to the front room and opened the door. The timing of the Auror's couldn't have been worse as Thomas had just returned home with Draco after leaving the house without permission earlier in the afternoon. When Thomas had returned a frantic Ginny had laid into her son and Thomas had retaliated with some pretty hurtful comments, Jacques was actually worried that their relationship was becoming unfixable.

When Jacques entered the room he went straight over to his wife and reassured her he would protect her and fight for her. Ginny had initially been confused but then she spotted Kingsley entering the room and her entire world shattered.

"Hello, Ginny." Kingsley greeted quietly. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to come with us."

"Oh god." Ginny slumped against Jacques and held onto her husband.

"I'm coming with her." Jacques said, taking control of the situation. He knew if she was left alone his wife would crumble and make things worse for herself.

"Of course." Kingsley nodded.

"Is there any way we can do this so no-one knows what's going on?" Jacques asked. "Our son doesn't deserve to be put through the torment of facing the press."

"I've arranged for us to apparate straight into my office." Kingsley explained. "At the minute we're the only people that know about what going on. I'm quite prepared to deal with this matter as privately as possible."

"Thank you." Jacques nodded at Kingsley before suddenly realising something he should have asked right away. "How did you find us?" Turning to Draco he glared at the man he had taken a dislike to. "Did you do this? Did you tell?"

"Of course I didn't." Draco exclaimed. "I promised I wouldn't do anything to hurt Thomas and that includes having his mother arrested."

"Draco wasn't how we found Ginny." Kingsley interrupted, sensing the two men could quite easily get into an argument. "I can't reveal my sources but I can assure you it wasn't Draco who gave us the lead."

Jacques didn't look totally convinced as he turned back to his wife. Ginny was still slumped against her husband and had yet to say a word. Jacques quietly whispered a few words of reassurance before he turned back to Draco.

"Could you take Thomas? We'll come for him as soon as we can."

"Of course." Draco nodded. "Let me know if I can do anything to help."

Jacques thanked Draco and was just about to take Ginny with Kingsley and the Auror's when Thomas left his place at Draco's side and ran to his mother.

"I'm sorry, Mum. I didn't mean it, I don't hate you." Thomas sobbed. While he was angry at what Ginny had done knowing he could potentially lose her had made him realise that no matter what she'd done she was still his mother and he loved her.

"I know, darling." Ginny whispered, tears falling from her own eyes as she hugged her son for what could be the last time in a long time. "Hopefully, I'll see you soon."

"We need to go." Kingsley announced quietly.

Ginny gave Thomas a final kiss before releasing her son and once again slumping against her husband. With Jacques supporting her a sobbing Ginny was escorted from her home and into the Ministry where she would finally face questioning over the murder she had committed years earlier.

* * *

...

* * *

Late Saturday afternoon a tired and worried Jacques apparated to the Malfoy's house and knocked on the front door. It wasn't until he was thinking about Thomas that Jacques realised that he had no idea where Draco lived, luckily Draco had thought of that and had left his address on the mantelpiece for Jacques to find when he needed it.

When the door was opened by Hermione the witch ushered Jacques into the kitchen and offered him a drink. Jacques gladly accepted the hospitality and agreed to have a coffee. As Hermione was pouring the drinks Draco appeared and sat down at the table with Jacques.

"I want to thank you both for having Thomas." Jacques said to the couple. "Was he alright?"

"He was a bit quiet at first, but Scorpius soon got him talking." Hermione smiled as she remembered how excited Scorpius had been to have an uncle to play with.

"Where is he?" Jacques asked.

"He's in the back garden with Lyra and Scorpius." Draco replied. "I can go and get him if you want."

"Let him play for a few more minutes." Jacques said, taking a drink of his coffee.

"How's things with Ginny?" Hermione asked as she took a seat next to her husband.

Jacques sighed deeply before filling Draco and Hermione in on what had been happening over the last twenty four hours.

Jacques had initially stopped Ginny from speaking until his lawyer from Cape Town arrived. When his lawyer arrived a few hours later Ginny told both him and Jacques that the time had come for her to face up to what she had done. Ginny had then made a full confession and been questioned for hours regarding Lucius's murder.

In the early hours of the morning questioning had been suspended and Jacques had returned home for a few hours while Ginny was held at the Ministry. Bright and early the next morning Jacques and his lawyer returned to the Ministry as discussions got under way as to what was going to happen next. Jacques had immediately known that Kingsley wasn't the type of man to accept a bribe so he had tried hard not to appear as though he was demanding leniency for Ginny because he was rich and powerful.

While there were still plenty of discussions still to take place Kingsley had agreed that if at all possible the entire thing could be handled as privately as possible, there was no need for it to become public knowledge that Ginny was back in the country. Kingsley also agreed to release Ginny on house arrest while the matter was being fixed and an appropriate punishment found.

"What sort of punishment are they talking about?" Hermione asked when Jacques paused in his explanation of what had been happening.

"I'm not sure yet. My lawyer thinks that because she's pleaded guilty that will help lower her sentence. He also suggested that any statement Draco could give in regards to not wanting to see her punished too harshly would be a big help."

"I'll go and see Kingsley on Monday and see what I can do." Draco said.

"Thank you." Jacques smiled at the younger wizard, for once not resenting him for being in their lives. "There's also something. Sara, sorry Ginny, wants to see her family. She was hoping you could approach them and ask them to visit tomorrow afternoon."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Draco asked. "Telling so many people could lead to everyone finding out."

"I'm not exactly crazy about it but it's what she wants. Now she's facing up to her past she wants to make amends with her family." Jacques replied. "She also wants to know if you can get in contact with Blaise Zabini for her."

"She wants to see Blaise?" Hermione questioned. She could understand Ginny wanting to see her family but she was shocked that she would want to see her ex-boyfriend who she cheated on and left to serve a jail sentence on her behalf.

"She wants to apologise for the way she treated him and thank him for everything he did for her." Jacques explained.

"We'll see what we can do." Hermione said. "I'll pop over to The Burrow tonight and ask Molly to gather the family so we can talk."

"I'll also go and see Blaise tonight." Draco added. "Although I can't promise he'll want to speak with Ginny, he's moved on and left that part of his life behind him."

"We understand, but Ginny feels she has to at least try and make amends for the past." Jacques said. He knew there was a chance that his wife could end up hurt by people refusing to see her but it was what she wanted to do so he would be there to support her.

Jacques, Hermione and Draco were still discussing whether they thought Ginny's family would be accepting of her when the back door slammed open and Scorpius ran into the room laughing. Thomas ran in after Scorpius, also laughing, when he saw his father however he turned serious as he made his way over to the adults.

"Where's Mum?" He whispered quietly.

"At home, waiting for you." Jacques smiled at his son.

"Is she staying with us?" Thomas asked.

"For the time being." Jacques sighed, not knowing how they were going to broach the subject of a potential prison sentence to Thomas. "Why don't we go home and we can discuss everything with your mother."

Thomas nodded, eager to return home and find out how much longer he would have his mother with him.

Before he left with Jacques, Thomas thanked Hermione and Draco for having him and he promised Scorpius that he would visit as often as he could. Scorpius was upset over Thomas leaving so soon but he cheered up with his uncle's promise of more visits and his father's reassurance that Thomas was part of the family and wasn't going anywhere.


	12. Epilogue

**Five Years Later.**

As he entered the front room Draco stopped in surprise as he found Hermione pulling the cushions off the sofa and throwing them onto the floor in a heap.

"What are you doing?" He asked, entering the room.

"Looking for Flopsy." Hermione replied, her head still buried in the sofa. "Your daughter decided it was too big, so she shrunk it and dropped it down the side of the sofa."

Draco smirked as he walked over to his three year old daughter, Cassiopeia, who was sitting innocently in her playpen. Picking her up be gave her a kiss and began praising her advanced magical skills. While most toddlers could only do accidental magic, Cassiopeia showed remarkable control over hers. Draco had often seen his daughter reaching for something and if she couldn't she get it she had a tantrum and the object would sail into her chubby hands.

"Here it is." Hermione stood up straight and waved her wand over the tiny toy bunny in her hand, returning it to its rightful size.

"Flopsy, Cassie wants Flopsy." Cassiopeia leant over Draco's shoulder and held her arms out until Hermione handed her daughter her toy back.

Satisfied with her toy back in her arms Cassiopeia began telling the bunny off for disappearing as Draco put her back into her play pen. Draco watched Cassiopeia lecturing the toy for a few minutes before he turned back to Hermione, who was fixing the cushions on the sofa.

"Are you ready?" Draco asked. They were heading to The Burrow for Sunday lunch and if they didn't leave within the next few minutes they would be late.

"Two minutes." Hermione called as she headed into the hallway to grab her bag. "Where's Lyra and Scorpius?" She asked as she returned to the front room.

"They're coming." Draco replied.

Right on cue the two teenagers entered the front room, bickering over something. Hermione didn't even bother to see what her children were arguing over as she ordered them into the floo network as she grabbed Cassiopeia. Hermione and Cassiopeia were the last to travel through the fire and when Hermione emerged from the green flames in the front room of The Burrow there was no sign of her family. As Hermione ventured further into the crowded house and outside she soon spotted the rest of her family.

Scorpius was huddled in the corner with Fred, no doubt planning trouble of some sort. Years of George's training had paid off and Scorpius and Fred were major pranksters at Hogwarts. Hermione had lost track of the amount of letters she had received from the school informing her of yet another mess her son and his friend had caused.

Lyra was in the back garden with some of the other teenagers. Hermione smiled to herself as Seamus and Daphne arrived with Patrick and the teenager immediately left his parents and approached her daughter. Lyra and Patrick had been a couple for nearly a year, much to Draco's displeasure. While Draco actually liked Patrick and had nothing against him personally he just wasn't ready to let his little girl grow up completely and having a serious boyfriend was definitely too grown up for Draco's liking.

Turning her attention away from her daughter and her boyfriend, Hermione sought out her husband. Hermione smiled again when she spotted Draco laughing with Thomas and Jacques. In the last five years Draco and Thomas had become extremely close and spent quite a bit of time together, although Narcissa tried to avoid Thomas as much as possible which could make special occasions slightly awkward. Draco's relationship with Jacques had also improved over time and the two men actually enjoyed spending time together these days. There had been an incident between the two men shortly after Ginny's arrest when Draco had changed his mind about giving a statement to the Ministry. Draco felt that he couldn't betray his mother and his father's memory by helping Ginny any further. Jacques had been furious, until Kingsley had pointed out that what happened next to Ginny had nothing to do with Draco and him giving a statement wouldn't make any difference to her punishment.

"Hermione." Turning round Hermione smiled widely as Molly approached her. "I'm so pleased you all came."

"Don't we always? Your cooking's far too good to miss out on." Hermione laughed.

Molly blushed slightly at the compliment and changed the subject as she asked about Cassiopeia. Hermione handed her youngest child over to Molly and the two women chatted happily as they fussed over the toddler.

"Will you be coming next week?" Molly asked, looking slightly nervous as she waited for an answer.

"If you want us, of course we'll be here." Hermione replied.

The following week would be Ginny's first weekend back after spending the last five years in Azkaban. Negotiations about Ginny's punishment had raged for days between Kingsley and Jacque's lawyer, five years in Azkaban was the final offer or else Ginny would be made to stand trial. Knowing she could end up imprisoned for life with a trial Ginny had taken the offer of five years. Hermione hadn't seen Ginny in that time but she knew Thomas and Jacques visited her weekly and Molly and Arthur both went once a month.

Five years ago telling the Weasley's about Ginny had been easier than Hermione had anticipated, luckily no-one blamed her and Draco from keeping secrets about her from them. Molly, Arthur, George, Bill and Charlie had all accepted Ginny's offer to visit her right away and they had spent most of the day with their long lost family member, although accepting Ginny back into the family fully was still a work in progress. Percy didn't react well to Ginny's return and he refused to have anything to do with his sister, Hermione still wasn't sure if he had even seen her since her return.

Ron and Harry had also reacted badly, although they both aimed their anger towards Hermione and Draco. Eventually Luna and Pansy managed to get their irate husbands to see that Hermione and Draco had only done what they thought was best. Once they had been calmed down they both apologised to Hermione and Draco, she knew they had also both visited Ginny a few times since then.

Another person that had visited Ginny was Blaise. When Draco had visited his friend to tell him about Ginny it was revealed that Astoria was the one who had gone to Kingsley about Ginny's return. Astoria's actions had nearly ruined the couple's relationship but Blaise eventually forgave her when he realised she was only trying to do the right thing. Ginny had also sent a message to Astoria telling her she didn't blame her for turning her in and thanking her for making Blaise happy and giving him the family he deserved.

Looking around Hermione wasn't surprised to notice that Blaise, Astoria and their two children were absent. While the Zabini's were regular's at gatherings held by Draco and Hermione, Astoria wasn't comfortable with so many Weasley's. While Ginny may have forgiven her she was always worried that someone else would hold her responsible for Ginny not being present.

Hermione wasn't sure if any of the Weasley's did hold Astoria responsible for Ginny's imprisonment, but she hoped they didn't. No matter how long ago it was the simple fact was Ginny had killed a man and she was in Azkaban as a result of her actions all those years ago. Hermione couldn't help but think that if it hadn't been for Astoria informing the authorities about Ginny than the Weasley's would never have met Thomas. It was only the thought of impending imprisonment that had prompted Ginny to get in touch with her family and introduce them to her son.

The Weasley's had been shocked by Thomas's existence but had immediately welcomed him to the family, not caring in the slightest about who his father had been. Jacques had also been welcomed to the family and Hermione knew that Ginny's husband dined with the Weasley's at least once a week, sometimes more when Thomas was home from Hogwarts.

As Hermione's thought about Thomas and Hogwarts she remembered that he had just finished his last year. The thought that Thomas had finished school reminded her that Lyra was about to enter her final year, causing Hermione to wonder where the years had gone. Trying to forget all about the fact her eldest child was nearly an adult Hermione focused her attention on the infant in her arms.

Hermione was busy chatting to Cassiopeia when Draco came over and settled next to her. Molly had headed back to the kitchen ages ago, leaving Hermione to her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked. He had noticed his wife had been sitting staring into space for some time and he was worried in case something was bothering her.

"I'm fine, I'm just thinking." Hermione smiled as Draco as he put his arm around her.

"What about?"

"Nothing much." Hermione shrugged. "Just life."

"Good or bad?" Draco asked.

Hermione looked up at Draco before pressing her lips gently against his. "Definitely good." She smiled at Draco before settling back into his arms.

As she looked around the back garden of The Burrow, Hermione decided that ultimately Ginny's return had brought about a lot of good. While Ginny may have ended up in Azkaban, which wasn't so good for her, plenty of people had gained something from her return. The Weasley's had gained a grandson and found the missing part of their family while Draco had gained a brother. Thomas had also gained an entire family, while he may have lost his mother for a few years she would be returning home in a couple of days and the family he had discovered would always be there for him, both the Weasley's and the Malfoy's.

**The End.**

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**A/N - Thank you to everyone who left a review for this story. I know there will be people dissapointed with what happened with Ginny but it was actually really hard to decide on an appropriate punishment. Even so I hope people still enjoyed the story. Thanks for reading.**


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